The Kid
by dirao
Summary: AU, Literati, Futurefic. Jess comes back to Stars Hollow with a kid in tow. Will the town be able to deal with it? What happens when your past comes back to bite you... Some humor, some angst, lot of the Hollow... FINAL CHAPTER IS UP! Coming soon, sequel!
1. Prologue

Title: The Kid

Pairings: Literati, Java Junkie, though everything at its pace.

Spoilers: Everything up to season 5, but I pick and choose, so it'll be AU, Future Fic.

Synopsis: Jess returns to Stars Hollow with a kid in tow. What's the story? Can Stars Hollow deal with it? And what happens when he's not the only one coming back home.

THE KID

Prologue

He rode with a kid in the passenger seat. A 7 year old, too smart for her own good. Too young for her own good as well. His, in every sense that mattered to him. Not in every sense that mattered to law.

"Jess, when will I be old enough to smoke?" she asked. He tossed his lit cigarette out the window.

"Never, kid," he replied. So ok, now he had to be an example.

They'd fled New York during the night. Supervising bath was his duty, so he was the first to see the bruises. Liz hadn't seen them. She'd fallen off the wagon again, too drunk to see much of anything. The kid's stepfather could probably be blamed for the bruises.

He'd moved back in with Liz when he heard of his new sister… three years too late.

He was 27 now, still at a dead end, but at least he had a purpose. To get the kid away from all that no one had known enough to get him away from.

"Where are we going?" she asked, fidgeting with the semi functioning seat belt.

"We're gonna visit my uncle Luke," he answered, reaching over to fix the seat belt for her.

"How much longer?"

The sign for Stars Hollow was a blur as he sped past it.

"Not long."

TBC...


	2. The end of the Road

THE KID

**CHAPTER 1 – The end of the road**

Luke woke with a start, the rattling of the door his alarm. It had been a long time since anyone had tried to break in. The alarm clock's red display flashed 3 AM.

He grabbed the baseball bat by the side of the door, and slowly headed down the stairs.

The first sign of life he spotted was a small girl sitting atop a table at the diner, surrounded by a couple of duffel bags. The girl looked straight at him, brown eyes and dark reddish hair.

And then, out of the kitchen came Jess, bearing a glass of milk.

Luke slowly let his bat down. "How'd you get in?"

"Picked the lock."

"You never did learn how to knock, did you?" he asked, grabbing hold of the counter.

"Old habits die hard." Jess walked over and shook Luke's hand, both men's grips firm. "Uncle Luke, I want you to meet Annie. My sister, Annie."

Luke approached the girl. He looked straight at Jess. "You guys in trouble?"

Jess placed the glass of milk in front of Annie. "In over our heads," he admitted.

Annie looked at both men, then down at her milk. "Jess, do you think uncle Luke has chocolate for our milk?"

Luke shook his head. Another pain in the ass. "I'll get it. And some coffee. We'll talk."

Jess nodded as Luke disappeared into the kitchen.

The apartment still looked the same, Jess thought, after tucking Annie in to sleep in his old cot. Luke had offered the bed, but the kid was small enough to feel comfortable right there.

"You look older," Luke stated, taking a beer out of the fridge and offering it to his nephew. Jess took it.

"I am. Running away with a kid will do that to you."

"It was that bad?" Luke asked.

Jess didn't want to get into the discussion, but figured it was better to get it out of his system than to wait. "It could be worse."

"Did he…"

Jess shook his head. "Not as far as I can tell. Bruises on her back and arms."

"What did Liz say?" Luke asked. He watched Jess take a swig of beer and scratch his head.

"How long since you two talked?"

"About five years, maybe. After AJs car crash."

"That's about the time she started falling apart. I tried to get her into rehab, she found herself a great guy in there," Jess answered, the sarcasm made his voice bitter, reminiscent of his adolescence. Luke knew that voice all too well. He'd been just a kid and he'd had those bruises, and Luke had been too blind to notice.

"She told me then that you were going to live with her," Luke said, staring Jess straight in the eyes.

"When she called, she was drunk and there was this kid crying in the background. What else could I do?" Jess took another drink, a long one this time. He set the cool bottle against his forehead. "But I work, you know, I couldn't be there all the time. And Mr. Whatshisface doesn't hold down a job. I didn't ask the kid how she got the bruises. I packed our shit and left."

"And here you are." Luke tried to find clues as to Jess' plans in his eyes, but he could hardly see anything past confusion.

"Here I am."

"You better get some sleep, kid."

Jess smirked. It was something else to be called kid again. "Your couch looks really good right about now."

"That's exactly what I thought you'd say."

Living in New York, in a tiny apartment with hardly any clean air, Jess had become accustomed to waking in the dark. Every window in the apartment looked onto someone else's window, or onto the back of another building. The sunlight hit his eyes with unkind strength, reminding him that he wasn't in New York any longer.

He found the kid staring right at him, sitting on the floor by the sofa, eating a bowl of cereal.

It was nice not to be woken up by screams, or sirens, or a broken bottle in the kitchen.

"Morning, kid," he said, groggily.

"Can I watch TV now that he's awake, Uncle Luke?"

Luke popped his head in from the kitchen. "Sure thing."

"You want to watch TV?" Jess asked, confused.

"Uncle Luke has no good books," she replied, turning the TV set on.

Jess got up, rubbing his face with his hands. In the kitchen, Luke seemed to be doing something along the lines of a tax return. Jess grabbed some orange juice out of the fridge and poured himself a glass.

"Thanks for letting us crash here. I'll be out of your hair as soon as I can figure out what to do," he said.

Luke kept punching keys on the calculator. "I called Liz," he said, not looking up. "I told her that you'd be staying here with me for as long as it took, and that if she had a problem with it, I would send child services her way."

Jess took a long drink from his glass. "What did she say?"

"That I had no right. That I didn't know what the hell I was doing." Luke raised his eyes from the documents in front of him. "She won't bother you until she's clean again."

"Thanks," Jess said, looking at the floor.

Luke smiled kindly at him. "Don't mention it. I should have done that long ago."

Stars Hollow in the daylight seemed very much as he had left it. He'd left after the wedding to find her. And when she'd rejected him, he'd never thought of returning.

The streets hadn't changed. He'd yet to spot someone he knew, but it didn't matter all that much. The kid had taken to exploring and wanted to see every park and every corner of the town. She held a sticky popsicle in one hand and her brother's hand in the other.

Summer in Stars Hollow had always been an event. The main street was closed to cars, so that kids could play safely in the square without the possible threat, while their parents ate ice cream, or pie, or traded gossip.

Gipsy spotted him before he saw her.

"I ain't fixing that car of yours even if you won the lottery," she said, holding in a smile.

Jess couldn't help laughing. His car was still the same eyesore she'd gotten up and running almost eight years before.

"Go kid, run wild, but keep close, ok?" he whispered to Annie, who took it as an order and bound off towards the gazebo.

"Gipsy… it's good to see a familiar face," he said, moving in for a hug.

She backed away. "You don't fool me, Jess Mariano. I mean it about that car," she replied. She smiled though, and allowed the hug to happen. Her hair had grayed a bit since he'd seen her last, and her scowl had softened just a little. "If you can call that a car."

Jess laughed. "So I'm easy to recognize, I gather."

"You still wearing that same dumb-ass jacket, and still got no motorcycle for it."

She had him pegged to a T. He uncomfortably looked around to keep an eye on Annie.

"So how you been?" Gipsy asked. "Not any richer, if that car is any indication."

"Working. Getting exploited. The usual."

Gipsy raised an eyebrow. "See you got yourself a kid."

Jess didn't bother to correct her. "Yeah, she's kind of the reason we're here." He looked over at the kid, only to find her spinning around a lamppost. "I should go… but it was nice seeing you," he added.

"Yeah, I'll be seeing you, then. You can bring that dumpster in for a look tomorrow if you like," Gipsy replied, pointing at the car.

"I'll think about it," he said, smiling as he headed over to catch a dizzy Annie.

Gipsy kept on walking, all the way to Doosey's market, to the cashier, where Taylor was taking care of the cash register.

"Look over there," she said calmly, a small smile on her face.

"Gypsy, can't you see I'm busy?" Taylor turned to his customer, an old lady with two cans of peas. "Those are 2 for 1 today, Mrs. Jennings, wouldn't you like to take another pair?"

"Oh, I don't know… should I, dear?" the lady asked Gypsy.

Gypsy took the can from her hands, "Don't let him dupe you, lady."

The woman passed on the offer and paid quickly, walking out of the store.

"There, now you ain't busy no more." Gipsy stood beside him and pointed at the Town Square. "Now look who's back in town."

Taylor shrugged. "Oh, hell." He put on his thick-rimmed glasses and looked intently at the square. The all too familiar leather jacket and the hairdo were easy to spot. "Oh, God. It's that boy again."

"And he's got a kid with him. Thought you'd like to know," Gypsy said, glad to be of service. The town was too boring to let this run it's natural course. It was time to move things along.

"KIRK!" he called out. From behind a display case, Kirk appeared, with a worried look in his eyes.

"What is it, Taylor?"

"Activate phone tree number 325."

Kirk looked confused. "But that's the emergency phone tree, for hurricanes or for when he…"

"He's back, Kirk. GET TO IT."

Gypsy chuckled. This was going to be a good week.

---------------

To be continued…

Author's note: Hi, so I'm not new to Gilmore Girls but new to the fandom. I've written fics for other shows' before, and I'd love to get some feedback on this story. I already have five more chapters done but I'll dose them out. Tell me what you think!


	3. Phone Tree 325

**Chapter 2 – Phone Tree # 325 **

Christopher knocked lightly at the front door of the Gilmore house. It had been his house too, until a year ago, when the separation came through.

But Gigi had become attached to Lorelai in their years together, and insisted on visiting on weekends in the summer. But Monday had come, and he needed to pick her up and drive her to Shelly's.

"Hey, Lore?" Christopher asked, as he pushed open the door. He was met with his ten year old daughter in a cowgirl outfit, shooting at Lorelai.

"Bang Bang, you're dead."

"I am dead… the life slips from my fingers as I hold my shot-down heart. What will become of me… Hey Christopher… oh, what will become of me…"

Christopher smiled, scooping up his little girl from the ground. "Kiss?" he asked.

"Cowgirls don't kiss," she said, wiggling out of reach.

Christopher laughed. Lorelai kept on pretending to die. The phone rang.

"Get that, will you?" Lorelai asked, writhing. "The dying cannot answer the phone."

Christopher picked up. "Hello, Gilmore residence," he answered, politely.

"Activate phone tree 325", a cryptic voice said over the phone, followed by a soft click and the dial tone.

"What the hell?" He asked at the receiver.

Lorelai, confused, got up from the floor. "Who was it?"

"Someone said Activate Phone Tree 325."

Lorelai looked at him, confused. "Are you sure they said 325?"

"Gigi, get your stuff ready." Chris said. When the girl was out of sight, he nodded. "Does that mean anything to you?"

Lorelai nodded. "Emergency Town Meeting for Something Prevention."

"That's odd."

"You don't say."

Lorelai took of her cowboy hat and took out a large folder from under the phone. "Let's see… 325… ", she muttered, thumbing through it. "Ok. Here it is. Oh, Hurricane and other natural disasters. Drought, maybe?"

Christopher laughed, shaking his head. "Should I be worried?"

"Always, Mister." She pointed her finger at his nose. "Global warming is upon us, polar bears are dying every day, and Stars Hollow is about to turn into the Sahara."

"So I guess this means babysitting next weekend is out of the question…" Christopher added, taking Gigi's backpack in his hands.

"Call me Wednesday, I'll let you know if the lions are circling the watering hole," Lorelai replied, dialing.

"Tell Rory to call when she gets in, ok?"

Lorelai nodded, waving goodbye to Gigi.

"Dammit, answering machine. Hey Luke, it's me. Activate Phone Tree 325? Uhm, I think you're at the end of the phone tree, so anyway, town meeting tonight, 9PM, Hurricane Prevention or something. Got that? See you there."

She looked in the mirror for a second. She considered whether to keep her outfit the same or to change it. After the divorce came through, she had been seeing more and more of Luke, and it was different. This time, it was comfortable. And that was dangerous. The comfort of a routine had done them in last time, and she wanted to take things slowly but with a certain level of risk. Maybe the purple top? Or was she too old for it now?

Her cellphone rang, interrupting these thoughts.

"Fruit of my loins," she answered, recognizing the number.

"Ugh," replied the youngish voice over the phone. "Mom, no matter how old I am, you can't say loins to me."

"Hey, sweetcheeks. Where are you now?" she asked.

"Airport. Hartford. Jet lagged."

"Do you want me to pick you up?"

Rory paused for a second. "No. I'll take a cab. Rather pay than wait."

"Spoiled brat."

"Your fault."

"Get a nice rental. A BMer."

Rory laughed over the line. "Whatever. So anything new?"

"Town meeting tonight. Hurricane Prevention," Lorelai explained.

"Oh, cool. I haven't been to a town meeting in years."

Lorelai sighed. "You haven't been to town in years."

"I've been busy," Rory replied, deflecting the hurt sound of her mother's voice. "Ooh, the rental office. Gotta go. See you soon."

"Get a silver car at least," Lorelai retorted, before her daughter hung up. She looked into the mirror again. The purple top would do.

- - - - -

London had been a nightmare. Cities became a blur and washed into one another. It had been ages since Rory Gilmore had actually been in a place she could call home. She would wake up disoriented and look outside the window, trying to figure out where she was from the color of taxi-cabs. She asked for directions for streets that belonged to a different town.

Being a foreign correspondent had been her dream, but now she realized she knew too little about her dream before pursuing it.

Without telling anyone, she had resigned. She needed to sit down and absorb what she'd done until then. She needed to reflect on the places she'd sped past, and maybe write about the terrible things she'd witnessed but had not allowed to sink in. If you erased them from your memory the moment you reported them, were you ever really there?

She had seen people die. When she was younger, she'd wanted to be touched by life, and that was why she had chosen that career. But now she felt as if life had passed her by while she stood in a glass bubble. She had expected to die a little with every death she witnessed. Instead she grew more sheltered.

It was time to go back home. A few weeks would do. She could deal with her town for a few weeks, get herself back. Die a little.

She was sure she could.

- - - - -

Luke noticed a strange buzz in the diner, nothing he hadn't seen before. Some piece of gossip that was being spread around.

He walked up the steps to the apartment to check on Jess. He could feel a bit of his guilt over Jess receding as he walked into the room and saw Jess reading to his sister.

"Hey, Luke, there's a message for you. I didn't want to pick up," he said, going back to his reading.

Luke turned on the machine. "-mit, answering machine. Hey Luke, it's me. Activate Phone Tree 325? Uhm, I think you're at the end of the phone tree, so anyway, town meeting tonight, 9PM, Hurricane Prevention or something. Got that? See you there"

Luke walked over to the window and looked out. Taylor was passing out flyers. This was not good.

"Not again," he muttered.

"Hurricanes?" Jess asked.

"Did Taylor see you?" Luke questioned.

Jess sat up and closed the book. "Go take a nap," he told the kid, who obediently went, rubbing here eyes. He stood up. "Only ran into Gypsy."

"Great. Troublemaker Number One," Luke took off his baseball cap and ran his fingers through his hair. "Ok, kid, we need a plan."

"A plan for what?" Jess asked, still confused.

"To keep you in this town."

"Hey if the Hurricane comes, I want to be evacuated just like everyone else," Jess replied, finding the whole conversation very amusing.

"You don't get it, do you?" Luke asked, shaking his head. "You're the Hurricane, Jess. You're it, kid."

- - - - -

To be continued...

Author's note: thanks for the wonderful feedback. Tell me what you think, then go and tell your friends. I'll try to post a chapter a day or every other day.


	4. Natural Disasters

**Chapter 3: Natural Disasters**

The wind wasn't blowing too hard, Rory noticed as she drove down the quiet lane. No real sign of a hurricane. Her childhood neighborhood remained the same. As she approached the driveway, she spotted her mother sitting on the porch steps, a thermos of coffee on the floor beside her, and two mugs at the ready. Home.

It had been three years since she'd seen her last. They talked and emailed every other day, but the fact was, Rory had been avoiding Stars Hollow. The family Christopher, Lorelai and Gigi had become tried to include her, but she couldn't help feeling left out. Her room gradually became someone else's, and her life had led her elsewhere. Nowhere close to Stars Hollow.

But now, as she parked her car, she regretted having distanced herself so. It had left her vulnerable to disappearing. She glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror, her hair pixie short, held out of her eyes by barrettes. She felt five years old, tops.

She killed the engine of the rental, and dragged herself and her bags out of the car. She'd learned to pack light, a briefcase and a duffel, military green.

"There's my baby," Lorelai said, running up to meet her. "And you got that lovely silver car now. Oh, hon, I'm so proud of you."

Rory pondered how her mother still didn't look a day older than thirty-five, while it was her that was closer to thirty now.

"Hey, mom," she said, returning the hug. "You look great."

"Flattery will get you coffee…" Lorelai retorted. "You are definitely all mommy."

Rory laughed, carrying her bags to the porch. She took a seat on the steps and poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Hey, fill mine up too," Lorelai called, taking a seat next to her.

"I'm glad to be back."

"Glad to have you." Lorelai placed an arm over Rory's shoulders. "I like your hair."

"Liar," Rory replied, with a smile.

"Christopher wants you to call him."

"Later?" Rory said, closing her eyes. "I want to take a shower first. And hear about the hurricanes…"

"Town meetings are fun now. Ever since Jackson and Taylor have started sharing command. When they both go there's the Gavel-Wrestling, it's almost like dinner theater, without the dinner," Lorelai explained.

"Now you just made me hungry," Rory replied.

Lorelai stood up, taking the duffel in her hand, and juggling the thermos and coffee cup in the other. "Come on kid, let's get you settled in."

Rory walked in ahead, bravely into the known.

Lorelai smiled to herself, thinking that after all, the kid really was all mommy.

- - - -

Jess chewed on his fingernails. He hadn't done that since he was thirteen and started smoking. But now he was a role model, and role models don't smoke. At least not in front of kids.

"You ok?" he asked Annie, who was fidgeting with a loose string on her jeans.

She nodded. "I like the circle with a roof in the park."

"Gazebo it's called," Jess explained. He smiled at her but his lips were tight.

He paced. Luke said to stay home from the meeting, but he couldn't just wait around to see if this town wanted him in or out. He couldn't just…

This had happened before. He hated being followed around by his past. Beaten child, rebellious teenager, bad guy all around. The wrong man all around. A bad seed, a bad influence, a rotten apple.

He looked at Annie. Maybe he could just leave her here with Luke. They'd take her. They'd discard him, but her they'd learn to love.

"Kid, you want to go for a walk?" he asked, grabbing her coat and his jacket. He'd just tell Luke to…

But then, he didn't want to leave her. He knew how these things went. To be alone in the world with no one who is like you is a very tough position to be in. He knew loneliness. He didn't want her to feel abandoned by him as well.

"Let's go, we have to go tell some people we like it here," Jess said, helping Annie into her coat.

- - - - -

"Come on, Taylor. You can't seriously still hold all that against him. He was just a kid then," Luke said, following Taylor around as he unfolded the chairs for the town meeting.

"We're having this meeting. It's for the town to decide whether or not he can stay," Taylor replied, greeting a few incoming townspeople with a wave.

"You can't have this meeting," Luke said, raising his voice. "He's been through enough. Do you think he'd be here if he had anywhere else to go?"

People started to gather around him, as Taylor glanced at his watch. "Well, you can tell us all about it when the meeting starts."

He sat beside the podium, while Luke stormed out of Ms. Patty's. He tried to gather himself, tried not to explode. He had to save up his arguments… just fifteen more minutes.

He calmed down, walked inside and sat in the first row. He held up his hand, right in front of Taylor, and waited for his turn to speak.

- - - - -

"C'mon, Mom, we're gonna be late!" Rory exclaimed, knocking on the bathroom door.

Lorelai walked out, combing her hair. "Do you see a Hurricane coming? We won't miss the fun, trust me."

"Let's go-o," Rory insisted. She handed her mother a strawberry pop-tart and started down the stairs. "For the road."

"Good to see some things never change."

- - - - -

"Some things never change," Taylor retorted in anger. Half of the people present agreed.

Somewhere in the back row, a young tall man added, "Why did he come back? Is there something here he didn't wreck?"

Luke turned to stare the man down. It was Dean, after all, and Dean had always feared him.

"What's he doing here, Luke?" Babette asked. "And who's the kid?"

Taylor took up the argument. "Yes, indeed. Do we need another poster child for teenage pregnancy?" he asked.

Zach raised his hand, slowly. "I resent that," he replied. "We were in our early 20's. But it's a good point."

Lane elbowed him in the ribs.

"You're all holding against him things that happened when he was a kid. And as to who the kid is, it's none of your business," Luke answered. "You can all just go sit yourselves down in church and be all high and mighty, but you can't tell me you have never made a mistake. He needs this town now and you're gonna turn your backs on him?"

Ms. Patty raised her hand. "You said the same thing when he first came here."

"Yehj," Luke dismissed her with a wave. "And you've never screwed up?"

"If he's changed so much, then why isn't he here?" Gypsy asked, stoking the fire.

"I am," Jess replied, not too loudly, from the back entrance. He slowly walked to the front of the room, holding Annie's hand. "You can ask me whatever you need to know in order for us to stay here."

"Well, young man, this isn't customary," replied Taylor. "I mean, generally, this meeting is for townspeople, and you are technically not townspeople…"

"Oh, shut up, Taylor. You wanted answers, and he's here to answer. So shut it or I'll shut it for you," Luke added, sitting down with a huff.

Jess looked out onto the crowd, not at all surprised to see the familiar faces that had changed so little. He felt embarrassment, something he'd seldom felt in his life, a feeling this town brought on to him so often. Back then, he'd had the reassurance of her presence. Now, her absence made him feel even lonelier. He gripped Annie's hand firmly.

"So what would you like to know?" he asked.

The crowd at once started throwing questions his way. The voices climbed upon one another and made it hard to distinguish any word.

"Taylor," Luke said sternly.

Taylor shrugged and hit the podium with his gavel. "Order, order…"

But the crowd did not come to order.

- - - - -

Lorelai and Rory approached the hall by foot, the noise and commotion spilling to the outside. They made their way through the crowd, which slowly parted upon recognition.

Rory tried to stretch over a few heads to see what was going on. She caught Taylor's eye as he called the room to order.

Taylor blanched.

Rory leaned in to Kirk, who was near the back entrance. "Hey, what's going on?"

Lorelai, still a bit taller than Rory, caught a glimpse of the hurricane.

She swore under her breath.

The news of their arrival to the room spread like brushfire, until the murmur became low and soft, and only one voice remained: Dean's.

And he asked, "So tell us, Jess, what the hell are you doing here, again?"

And that's when Rory's heart stopped.

She pushed through the crowd, only to find Jess staring straight at her, holding a little girl's hand.

In silence, she stared right back.

Gypsy let out a quiet chuckle and leaned over to the person sitting next to her. "Some hurricane, huh?"

- - - -

Author's note: Hey all… thanks for the lovely feedback, and for the suggestion to enable anonymous reviews.

As for the story, I know I'm drawing it out, but don't worry. Next chapter, we'll see confrontation, we'll see conversations and, well… Tune in! By the way, I am trying to keep the characters as In-Character as I can, while trying to show that time does affect people's attitudes towards life in general. But please, if you feel I'm going too OOC, please let me know. Also, is Lorelai speaking too slow? Let me know what you think, everything!


	5. Of Hollow Hell and the places in between

**CHAPTER 4 – Of Hollow Hell and the places in between**

Dean, unaware of what was happening, had voiced the question everyone wanted answered.

Jess' silence didn't seem all that unfamiliar. But the way he was looking right past Dean, as if he hadn't heard his question, irked Dean to no end.

"I asked, what the hell are you doing here?" Dean repeated, still not aware of Rory's or Lorelai's presence.

Annie tugged at Jess' pants.

Jess tore his eyes away from Rory just for a second, catching his breath as he leaned in to hear what Annie wanted. She whispered in his ear.

Jess straightened back up with a small smile, and trying to keep his voice steady, he fixed his eyes back on Rory. Once again, unintentionally, she became his rock and his undoing.

"Annie asks if you could please stop saying hell in front of her," Jess said, never looking Dean in the eye.

Rory, in spite of herself, smiled.

A nervous laughter filled the room.

Luke glanced behind him to see who Jess was looking at and he caught a glimpse of Rory. Lorelai waved at him and shrugged.

He understood her completely.

"Just answer the question, young man," Taylor warned.

Annie yawned and stretched her arms, asking to be picked up. She was a little big for carrying, but it was past her bedtime. It had been for a while. Jess picked her up.

"This is my sister Annie. She needs a home. And try as I might to find another place that fits that description, Luke was the only one who ever made a home for me. He's defended me, through all the mistakes I made when I was young. I can't tell you I've changed much since then, you wouldn't believe me if I did. But we need this town to take us in. I can't just up and leave her here. We can't go back to where we were, and we have nowhere else to go… I'm here to ask you to let us stay…"

His speech, his eyes, his thoughts, they were all directed at Rory. At her eyes. At her small smile, at her watery eyes.

He didn't want his knees to weaken, he didn't want to break. He looked away from Rory, up to Taylor. "A trial period. You name it. Put me on probation. Don't care. But don't take it out on the kid…"

He looked back out to the crowd, and found Rory gone.

Without thinking twice, he started walking out of the auditorium, his steps measured, weighed down by the kid and the heaviness of the atmosphere.

He heard Taylor calling for a vote, but for now it didn't matter. He pushed past the crowd at the door, past Lorelai even.

He left the hall and crowded sidewalk, crossed the square, cut through the gazebo, and almost ran down the street until he met the shortcut through the small woods. Annie seemed light, and she was so tired she didn't wake.

He walked downhill to the bridge.

There she was sitting, wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeve.

"Hey," he said, almost a whisper.

"Hey," she replied. "You're back."

"So are you, I guess," he said. He sat down slowly. Annie stirred but settled back into a comfortable position. "I mean, I didn't figure you would be here… I mean…"

"I wasn't here. This is… vacation. I needed time to think, I guess," she said. She was trying not to reveal too much, but it was hard not to.

"Last time I saw you…" he started. An apology? He wasn't sure how to continue.

"Was a very long time ago," she finished.

"I'm sorry," he attempted.

She shook her head.

He continued. "That was not the question I should have asked, back then. I shouldn't have pushed… shouldn't have assumed… I was an idiot, I was…"

"Impulsive," she completed.

"A jackass," he mouthed, so Annie would not hear him with her swear-word radar.

She laughed. She still couldn't look him in the eye. In front of a crowd, yes. Alone? Not so much. "It was too much to take in, too fast, you know? I'd been hurt too badly."

"I hurt you too badly," he replied. He couldn't look into her eyes, not now. He played with Annie's hair. He couldn't help noticing Rory's hair, so short… so unfamiliar. She cowered under his gaze, pushing the longish strands behind her ear.

"Cute kid," she said, veering off into a different conversation. Too much, too soon, this was.

"That I can't take credit for."

"I know."

Silence. He tried to catch her eye, but it was as it had always been. Shyness, elusive glances. Not play. Not fire. Not safe at all.

He shook his head. "I'm so glad you were just there," he said, a half-laugh escaping his lips. "I don't know how I would have dealt with the crowd without a friendly face."

"You had Luke. And Gypsy was having a ball."

"Keen powers of observation."

"Comes with the territory."

"Yeah… I read your piece on Darfur a couple of years back. It was…" he couldn't find a way to say it without seeming… harsh.

She saved him from himself. "Cold?"

"Well, yeah."

"It's good to have a critic," she replied, without a hint of sarcasm. "The whole town just… raves."

"It was good, it was… it was concise, I guess. But it lacked…"

"Something."

"Yeah, something."

"I know."

Silence again. They sat there, not looking at each other. It was his turn again. And it was getting late, and maybe he was getting banned from town, but maybe it was a chance at redemption.

"Look, I know this sounds weird. We haven't seen each other in ages, and this is such a crappy situation, and maybe the town won't let me stay past tonight, but…" His pause caught her attention. She looked up from the lake and into his eyes.

It gave him the strength to finish his sentence.

"But I'm here now, and what I meant about having screwed up and being sorry, that was for you. And I know that I suck and for what it's worth I probably will keep right on sucking, however hard I try. But now I have to take care of her, so I guess what I'm trying to say is…"

"It takes a village," Rory added, helping him along.

"Well, yeah. And so far, my village is full of ogres and gentlemen with swords all waiting to cut my head off." He smiled, in spite of himself. "The kid needs someone on her side. I don't think we can go it alone. So I guess what I'm trying to ask you is, can we be friends?"

"Wow, you almost didn't breathe just now," Rory replied, amazed.

Jess smiled weakly. "Some things that rubbed off on me and never washed off."

"I know what you mean. Look at me. I've got your haircut now."

And then, just then, on that bridge with no one around, magic happened.

Jess laughed. Jess really really laughed.


	6. MoneyBack Guarantee

**Author's note: Sorry to those of you that have the story alert on, you must have gotten like 100 alerts. I just had a very hard time posting from a Mac. Anyway... **I'm so depressed. There's hardly any feedback going on. Come on people, I love to know what you think, and since does not have a ticker to know how many people stop by and read and lurk, if I don't hear from you, how do I know you've read it? If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it…. You get the idea. Anyway, thank you for sticking around for those of you reading this, still a lot to come, and thanks for the lovely feedback to everyone who drops me a line. So, about this chapter, this was actually conceived as two chapters, so you're getting more for your money… In any case, here we go…

**THE KID**

**CHAPTER 5: Money-back Guarantee**

Rory walked Jess and Annie back to the diner, but stopped a block away. She kept her distance, her well-trained distance, and waved Jess goodbye.

The diner was still open, the buzz of the gossip and town meeting keeping the customers busy. Someone helped him with the door. Kirk was sitting on the booth by the door. Jess leaned in threateningly, or at least it seemed so to Kirk.

"What was the verdict?" he asked.

Kirk shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "You have a six-month trial period. The kid can stay as long as she likes," Kirk answered, shoving his sandwich into his mouth so he wouldn't be asked any more questions.

Jess smiled. "Good enough."

He walked upstairs to the apartment, for the first night of peaceful sleep in a while.

Luke watched him go by, with an approving nod.

The kid had grown up.

------

Rory walked home exhausted.

She found herself dreading Lorelai's reaction, as she quietly walked up the porch steps.

Lorelai was sitting on the couch, fixing the hem of a skirt. The only detail that reminded Rory of the passing of time was that Lorelai wore glasses for detailed work.

Lorelai peered up from the skirt. "The cool thing about glasses is that I can look at you like this, like they do in movies."

"Yeah, I was sort of expecting that look. That look makes me feel seventeen again."

Lorelai smiled kindly. "Sit here, babe, and tell me all about it. Is there a Jim Croce song that reflects this situation? I'm feeling a little bit country."

Rory smiled, plopping herself down on the sofa. "That makes no sense, mom."

"Bear with me. Jess, a kid, a town meeting, you walking out… Giving you this look sorta makes_ me_ feel like you're seventeen again."

Rory shrugged. "He said all that stuff looking straight at me."

"I could tell." Lorelai sighed. "He's got a six month trial period, money back guarantee, call now!" She smiled with pursed lips. "I have the feeling the town let him stay just so we'd have something to talk about. The biggest bit of gossip this past year was my divorce and frankly, that's stale."

"I'm so glad to take the heat off you," Rory replied, rolling her eyes.

"It's what family's for, remember?"

"How could I forget?"

Lorelai left the stitching on the coffee table, hugged her adult daughter and kissed the top of her head, just like when she was a teenager. "So what did you talk about?"

"I don't know. I think we're friends. I quoted Hillary Clinton, then I made fun of him. We completed each other's sentences." Rory looked at the ground.

"So… friends?" Lorelai asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Rory Gilmore, sidekick extraordinaire."

"I'll go get us some Ding-Dongs."

- - - - - -

The kid was jumping up and down on the bed, as sunlight pervaded Jess' eyelids. "Can I go play with Brian and Lee?"

"Woah, hold on a sec, kid." He raised himself up on his elbows. Seven AM. "Ok, run that by me again."

"Brian and Lee."

"Who are they?"

"Twins!" Annie exclaimed.

"I'm not catching up. Gimme a sec."

Jess pulled on a shirt and rubbed his eyes, shaking off his exhaustion. "Are they downstairs?"

"Yes," Annie replied. "Come oooooon, it's twins!"

"So you said."

Annie led him downstairs by the hand. He was surprised to find before him two dark haired Korean boys, led by Lane Kim.

"Jess," Lane said curtly, while Annie pulled faces at Brian and Lee.

Jess scratched the back of his neck. "Lane."

"These are Brian and Lee," Lane said.

"I've heard all about them," Jess replied. "And this is Annie."

"Can we play now?" Annie asked.

Jess looked at Lane inquiringly. "This your idea?"

"Zach's… We were at the meeting last night. He's pro-you," Lane explained.

"I gather that means you're anti-me."

Lane conceded with a shrug. "Guilty until proven innocent."

"You sound like your mother," Jess muttered.

Lane half-smiled. "We can have her back here at 6 pm. That way you have some time, you know, to get settled."

"Thank you," he replied, his voice grateful. The kids waited no longer before bounding out to the square, where Zach was waiting.

"Oh, just one thing…" he added, leaning in closer. Lane listened. "She's got a couple of nasty bruises… kind of why we're here. But I don't want people… staring at her, ok? So just… don't take her swimming, and just… you know…"

Lane nodded. "Not a word from us…" She paused before leaving. "You know, if you do this right, everything will be alright. Does that make sense?"

Jess nodded.

"Good," Lane added. "See you this afternoon."

- - - - - -

Luke parked the truck as the exchange between Lane and Jess finished. He saw the kid running around the square with Lane's twins.

Jess helped him carry in a couple of boxes into the diner.

"You don't have to do this," Luke said.

Jess tied on an apron and grabbed a notepad. "I have to do something. I can't be… just staying here."

"You've always worked hard. It was part of the trouble we had, remember?" Luke reminded him.

"She's my responsibility."

"Nope, she's your mother's responsibility." Luke shook his head. "Look, I know you're… independent… but… you can't go this alone. I can help you get an apartment, help you get on your feet. And I want you to let me help you."

Jess looked straight into Luke's eyes. "You don't owe me anything."

"Maybe not. But we owe the kid," Luke replied. "And you can't sleep upstairs forever…"

Jess nodded.

Luke handed Jess a pen to take the orders. "Let me help you settle in. After that, you can do this however you choose. Your call."

"Ok. Ok." Jess smiled. "Then I need a favor."

"What's that?" Luke asked.

"I need you to help me get Liz to sign some papers…"

Luke scratched the back of his neck. "Let's talk about this when the breakfast rush is over, how does that sound?"

"Fine by me," he said, approaching table 2, a party of three.

------

"Hon, what are your plans today?" Lorelai asked, calling in to Rory through the half opened door.

Rory woke with a start. Jetlag had settled in, she decided, staring at her clock.

"Oh, I missed breakfast," she groaned. Lorelai popped her head into the room.

"Afternoon, sunshine."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

Lorelai pondered. "Well, if I'd woken you, you would've needed breakfast, and breakfast is too early to face Jess, and I don't cook breakfast, so we would've had to go to Luke's."

"I can cook," Rory reminded her mother.

Lorelai opened the door all the way. Gigi's toys were still all over the room, and the pink sheets made it obvious the room wasn't Rory's anymore. "But then I would've had to have raw food, and that's just not sanitary."

"So it's alright for me to have lunch at Luke's but not breakfast?"

Lorelai smiled. "Hey, it's not my fault you overslept."

"Your logic astounds me."

"Welcome back."

"So you were asking about my plans for today?" Rory asked, propping herself up on her elbows.

Lorelai sat at the edge of the bed. "Actually, I was curious about your plans in general."

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"I don't know if I've though too far ahead. I was wondering if I could stay here for a few weeks."

"You don't even have to ask… but I have some stuff to ask. Like, what about your job?"

Rory shrugged. "I needed a break from all the noise, you know?"

"I don't know if I do."

"I'm ok for money for at least a year. I just… I'm not doing things like I should. I need to rework what I need and what I want."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with our visiting hoodlum, would it?" Lorelai asked, suspicious.

Rory shook her head. "It was on my mind before that. When I bought the plane ticket. Everything these past five years has been…violently fast. Logan, Josh, the paper, being abroad, seeing all the… seeing what I've seen. I need to take it in."

"Hmm."

Rory looked at her inquisitive mother. "I'll be clearer soon, I think, and I'll be able to explain better. Right now, the reason I need this break is because I can't explain anything better." Rory pulled off the covers. "I'm not going to be here the whole time. I'll look for a place. I need to… organize my ideas. Write. I need to work out a different way of looking at the world than the one I've been using."

Lorelai repeated her harrumph.

Rory placed a hand on Lorelai's shoulder. "You need to trust me. I found my way before. I'll do it again."

"Somehow, finding your way almost always involves Jess, doesn't it?" Lorelai added, with a sigh.

Rory shrugged. "I just saw him yesterday. He's not an all-powerful master magician…"

Lorelai made a face. "You know that you can stay in this house as long as you like, right? This is your house as well."

"I know." Rory stretched and yawned. "So, breakfast?"

"Lunch," replied Lorelai. "Unless hamburgers and fries are suddenly breakfast food."

"The first food of the morning is breakfast, whatever it is. It breaks the fast, get it?"

Lorelai smiled. "You blow me away with your logic. Now get a move on, I'm hungry."

-------

Breakfast rush turned into lunch rush and before he could do anything about it, Rory and Lorelai were in his section. Not that there was much of a distinction, there was his section, and Luke's section. And since Luke was out, pretty much anywhere they were to sit was now his section.

Just a day after encountering Rory again, and he was already ranting in his head.

"Hey," Jess said.

"Hey," Rory replied.

"Hi," Lorelai added.

"Hi," Jess answered.

"Whoa, déjà vu," Lorelai couldn't help pointing out. Jess looked down at his order pad. Rory looked down at the menu. Lorelai smiled.

"So, what would you like," Jess asked.

"Two cheeseburgers, 2 fries, 2 cherry cokes, and some onion rings," Lorelai checked off.

"Ok. Coming right up," he said, walking away quickly.

"Mother!" Rory whispered, giving Lorelai a LOOK.

"What? I couldn't help it. It was just so… "

"Adolescent?"

Lorelai smiled. "That too."

Rory looked up from her menu to find Jess staring at her. She blushed intensely.

"Go talk to him."

"You seem extra-annoying today."

"Ten years ago you would have called this supportive." Lorelai rolled her eyes and took the menu from Rory's hands. "Go. I know you have stuff to ask."

"I hate you intensely," Rory replied, getting up and walking across the diner.

Rory sat at a stool, right in front of Jess. "Hey," she said quietly.

"I think we've had this conversation before," Jess quipped.

"Yeah…" Rory added, rolling her eyes. "Uhm, so where's Annie?"

"The kid is playing with Lane's twins, believe it or not."

"I haven't seen those two in a while."

Jess nodded. "They both had rock concert t-shirts, down to their knees."

"Sounds like them." Rory replied. She looked down at the counter. "Ok, I feel like I'm seventeen again."

"I know what you mean. I bet you can't wait to get back to real life," Jess offered.

Rory shook her head. "Not really… it's complicated."

"Things with you Gilmores are always complicated."

Rory looked him in the eye, giving her famous withering glance. Jess closed his mouth and hid his smile. "I heard you're staying a while," she said, changing the subject.

"I'm on probation and Taylor is my parole officer," Jess replied.

She nodded. "Good. I mean… Never mind. I'm glad you can stay…"

Cesar rang a bell repeatedly. "That's your food," Jess said quiety.

Rory started back to the table, but thought better. She had something to say, and she decided it was time to say it out loud. "What you asked me yesterday? About being friends…"

Jess nodded. She'd started looking into his eyes, and he felt his throat knot. "Uh-huh?"

"Whatever you need," Rory said, honestly.

Jess nodded. "I'll get you your food."

------

When Luke arrived he found the diner half-empty and Jess hiding out in the store room, his back pressed against the wall.

"Are they gone?" Jess asked.

Luke laughed out loud. "Are you for real?"

"How does she do that?" Jess asked, a hand on his forehead. "I hadn't thought about her for years. I pushed her out of my head. And yesterday I go and ask her, hey, can we be friends?" He hit the back of his head against the wall. "What am I? An after-school special? I can't go reverting back to seventeen, you know? I've got to be stronger."

Luke rounded Jess' shoulders. "Maybe facing this is being stronger."

"Yeah? Well, it doesn't feel that way. And she says she's here for whatever I need, and my mind goes R rated all of a sudden. I was over this. Ten years is enough time to be over this, right?"

"Technically, seven."

Jess gave Luke a scowl. "Are they out there, yes or no?"

"They left," Luke answered, smiling knowingly.

Jess shook his head. "I got two tables to clear."

-------

Rory's curiosity got the better of her and she parted ways with her mother. Yes, she wanted to catch up with Lane, but she had a nagging need to see what this kid Annie was all about.

Lane's apartment was the same one they'd been living in for so long with Zach. They'd transformed it, kidproofed it, made it a home.

The last time she'd seen the twins, they were four years old, rowdy and inquisitive.

As soon as the door opened, she could tell that three years had not changed those main characteristics.

Lane greeted her with nothing less than a huge smile and a hug. "I love your hair. It's very rock and roll," she said, inviting Rory in.

"Thanks. Yours too. Glad to see the purple is back," Rory answered, while the kids ran around them.

"Get back here, Brian," Zach called, coming out of the bedroom. "Oh, hey, Rory."

Rory hugged him hello as Zach grabbed Brian by the waist and hoisted him up. "The two terrors have a new friend, I see."

Zach nodded. "Yeah, the kids are pro-Jess."

Lane shook her head. "They're pro-Annie," she corrected.

"Whatever, dude." Zach airplaned one of the twins back to the room, the other one running closely behind them. From the doorway to the room, Annie stared at Rory.

"So…" Rory started.

"Last night," added Lane.

"Yeah."

"Wow."

They exchanged a look and giggled. "I swear, I just got here and I feel like a teenager again," Rory said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. My Jess-resentment rushed right back to me this morning when I went to invite Annie over. But…"

"And there's always a but…"

Lane walked them over to the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee for Rory. "He seems… he seems to me like he's trying. For the kid."

"How weird is it to see him… like that…" Rory added.

Lane nodded. "Twilight Zone weird."

"Michael Jackson's latest hairdo weird." Rory laughed. She took a sip of coffee, gesturing towards the room. "What's she like?"

"Normal kid, I guess. Attacked the twins' Dr. Seuss collection. Pretty quiet. Takes after Jess," Lane replied.

Rory nodded. "I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that Jess is basically going to take on the role of a father now."

From the bedroom, Zach could be heard explaining to the twins. "Don't unscrew those... Nope, your bedknobs are not going to take you to a magical land…"

Lane shrugged. "Hey, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm a mother now, and I've had seven years to get used to it."

Rory bit her lower lip. "I missed him, you know?"

"Even after Logan?"

Rory nodded. "Even after Logan was over. Even after Josh…" She sighed. "I loved them both, but once in a while, I would find a book Jess had lent me, with his scribbled notes, and I would wish he was around to talk about the book or… anything."

"He doesn't seem like the talking type."

Rory shrugged. "But when he did talk… It just worked."

Lane furrowed her brow. "Past tense, right?"

Rory looked away. "Yeah. Past tense."

"Right."

"He asked me to be friends with him."

Lane looked concerned. "That didn't work out too well last time."

Rory shrugged, and buried her face in the coffee cup. Between Lane's worried stare and Lorelai's tentative inquisition, Rory knew that she was going to be closely watched these following weeks.

She looked at Annie, at her long reddish hair, at the brown eyes that were very much like Jess's, and she wondered how friends fit into Jess and Annie's lives now.

Rory wondered how she would fit now.

She shook her head and smiled, lowering the coffee cup. "So… do you have any new pictures of the twins?"

Lane smiled and rummaged through the book-case turned record-display case.

Subject changed.

------

**TBC…** Tell me what you think. I hope you're enjoying it!


	7. Of Malls, and other such animals

**Chapter 6: Of Malls, and other such animals**

Ten minutes before six, Jess started fidgeting.

Five minutes before six, he started chewing on his lower lip and staring off towards the gazebo.

How could he have been so careless? He hadn't asked for Lane's phone number. He hadn't asked for her address. He hadn't given them the extra sweater, or her doctor's numbers. He hadn't gotten her a doctor here, yet.

Tomorrow.

But now, three minutes before six, he could see three people approaching the diner through the gazebo. One was Lane, the other was Annie. Annie was in the middle, holding Lane's hand to one side, and to the other…

Jess squinted.

Rory.

He muttered a curse under his breath and ran his fingers through his hair. Right. Be the stronger one, he ordered himself.

He walked out of the diner to greet them.

As soon as Annie spotted him, she started leading Lane and Rory faster, pulling at their hands.

"Slow down, bucko," Rory said, smiling at the eager kid.

"Hey, kid," Jess called, approaching. She jumped up to hug him and he caught her. "Had fun?"

Annie nodded.

He looked up at Lane and smiled. "How was she?" he asked.

Lane nodded. "She was good," she answered. Then she smiled. "She got the twins to settle down for a tea party."

"Yeah, she's persuasive that way," Jess replied. "Thanks for everything."

"Well, I have to get back to the madhouse," Lane said, waving goodbye.

Waves were returned, but Jess kept his eyes on Rory.

"So…" Jess started.

Rory shrugged. "I'm sorry, I went over to Lane's and, well…"

Jess tilted his head to one side, calmly. "Hey, it's ok. I wanted to formally introduce you anyway."

He whispered something into Annie's ear.

Annie looked at him confused. "But I already said hi to her," she complained.

Jess shrugged.

Rory smiled. "She's tired, I bet."

"She is."

"So."

"So…" Jess tried to grasp around for the right words but knew they were non-existent. "Look, I know this is awkward but…"

"It's ok."

He looked up into her eyes. It was her turn to shiver this time. "So I kind of need some of that help you offered."

"What with?"

"Want a list?"

Rory smirked. "Start small, little grasshopper."

"I'm gonna act like I didn't hear that."

Annie's yawn interrupted them. "Jess, I wanna go to bed."

Jess shrugged. "What the lady wants…"

"The lady gets…" Rory completed, giving Jess a small smile as he was led by Annie up the steps.

"So you'll give me a hand?" he asked, walking up the steps to the diner.

"I'll be here tomorrow morning," she replied.

A new wave goodbye. A slow turning around. A slower walk home.

- - - - -

Luke walked up the stairs to his apartment. He found Jess channel surfing with the TV on mute, while Annie slept.

"What, no good books in the house?" Luke asked, sitting down beside him on the couch.

Jess shook his head. "Can't sleep. Can't concentrate."

"Rory?"

"That too," Jess replied. He left the remote alone for a second and faced his Uncle. "How did you deal with… "

"Lorelai getting married? Lorelai getting divorced? Dating her?"

Jess looked at his uncle sideways, "You're dating now? Again?"

"Yes. Or something like dating," Luke answered. "Gilmores are confusing."

Jess nodded. "No shit."

"You just have to learn to deal with it. Suck it up."

Jess shrugged. "Not good at that. I can hold in anger a bit better than before, but she just… destroys me, you know?"

"You told her yet?"

Jess straightened himself up on the couch. "Not telling her either. I'll just wait until it passes. It'll pass, right?"

Luke stood up from the couch and shrugged. "If it hasn't passed yet, why would it pass now?"

"Did you talk to Liz?" Jess asked, changing the subject.

Luke shook his head. "I think we should just go there this weekend with the papers."

Jess stood up quickly. He grabbed his jacket, wholly unnecessary. "I need to go for a walk. Can you watch the kid for a couple of hours?"

Luke nodded. "Where are you going?"

"Gonna beat up some swans. Relax a little," he replied, letting the door close behind him.

- - - - -

Rory woke up to the sound of country music. She glanced at her watch, squinted. 6:30 AM.

She dragged herself out of bed, out onto the living room. "Mom? Is that you?"

Lorelai was running around the living room, organizing it a little before heading off to work. "Hey, hon. Told you I was feeling a bit country. Borrowed some tapes from Luke."

Rory raised her eyebrows. "Tapes?"

"CDs. Just felt like saying tapes. Takes me back to the good old days."

Rory smiled coyly. "Hey, the good old days was a time for 8-tracks, not tapes."

"My own daughter turns against me, revealing my secrets. So why are you up so early?" Lorelai asked.

"You're kidding, right? Music at 6:30," Rory added, gesturing towards the stereo.

"Good point. Want to grab some breakfast?" Lorelai smiled.

Rory shrugged. "Sure. Do you have time? I still need to get dressed."

"Whatever happened to breakfast in your pajamas?"

"I kinda told Jess I'd give him a hand today."

It was Lorelai's turn to raise her eyebrows. "And what is he planning on doing with that hand?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna get dressed and imagine you didn't just say that."

"Imagine away. Oh, and I'm stealing your serious-journalist top tonight, so don't wear that!"

- - - - -

The bell of the diner warned him of her presence. He'd been fidgeting since early morning. He hadn't gotten any sleep, tossing and turning all night on the couch. The walk hadn't helped. Neither had the cigarette.

At least Annie had slept through the night, was still sleeping.

And now Rory was here again, pixie-like, with two books in her hands.

Lorelai walked straight towards him, sitting on a stool at the counter. "Coffee, I command thee… come to me…"

Jess grabbed a mug and poured half the coffee he had left into it. He pushed the mug at her. Lorelai smiled.

"Discrimination!" Rory exclaimed. "Some for me too!"

Jess raised an eyebrow at Lorelai. "You created a monster."

"Yes, but she's a cute monster."

Rory cringed. "Oh, gosh, I'm four again and you put my hair up in pigtails."

Jess took out his order form. "You two seriously have no food at your house?"

"We'll take two orders of cinammon banana waffles," Rory said.

Lorelai pointed to her coffee cup. "And a refill."

"Hello Lorelai. Goodbye, Lorelai's intestine," Luke said, approaching. Jess took it as his cue to disappear.

Rory followed him behind the counter.

"I don't think you're supposed to be back here," Jess said, feeling her nearby.

Rory shrugged. "Just reporting for duty."

"The kid's still sleeping," Jess replied. "Come upstairs after you have breakfast."

Rory squared off her feet and saluted him.

Jess couldn't help a small laugh.

- - - - -

Luke leaned in to Lorelai. "So, tonight…"

"Looking forward to it," Lorelai replied.

Luke smiled, pointing towards Jess. "These kids."

"Yeah, know what you mean," Lorelai said, touching Luke's hand lightly. Luke took a look around the diner. He didn't feel like making the front page of the Stars Hollow Weekly Gazette just yet.

"Gotta get to work," Luke added.

"Go." Lorelai let go of his hand and buried her smile in her half-empty coffee-cup.

- - - - -

Rory walked up the stairs to Luke's apartment, having rushed through breakfast.

Jess was just helping Annie pull down her t-shirt. Rory spotted the bruises on the kid's back just as she walked into the tiny apartment.

"Oh," she gasped, approaching. "Oh, Jess."

Jess looked up at Rory's face and placed a finger to her lips, shushing her. "Hey, Annie, put on your shoes, ok?"

Annie nodded, scrambling to the floor to look for her shoes.

Jess led Rory to the kitchen, letting his hand fall from her face so quickly, it seemed as if her lips had been burning.

"What happened?" Rory asked, a whisper.

Jess scratched the back of his neck, shrugged. "I didn't ask her. My money's on Liz's new boyfriend."

"So that's why…" Rory connected. She swallowed hard as she saw Jess nod. He couldn't look at her, but she understood so much now.

"Couldn't let them break her," Jess replied, staring at the floor. "She's just a kid."

Rory made a bold move. She searched his face, engaging his eyes. She made him look her in the eye. "So were you," she added.

He shrugged, turning his back to her. "Just don't tell anyone, ok?"

Rory nodded. "You're going to have to ask her, eventually. She may need to tell you about it. She'll soon want to know when she's going to see her mom again. Or go home." She spoke to Jess's back… He would not face her.

Jess ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, just not yet."

Rory placed a hand on Jess' shoulder. She wanted to do more. Wanted to hug him, to… His back tensed. He cleared his throat.

"So what books do you have with you?" Jess asked, avoiding her stare. He walked back to where Annie was trying to tie her shoes. He kneeled down to help her.

Rory shrugged off the familiar feeling of no being able to help him. "I brought Annie two of my Dr. Seuss books."

Jess smiled. "D'you hear that, kid? Rory brought you books."

Annie smiled up at Rory. "Thank you, Rory."

"You're welcome. There you go," Rory said, handing the girl the books. Annie ran with the books to the couch. "Well, at least she doesn't have you're manners."

"Yeah, that's a good thing."

Jess led Rory back to the kitchen. "Do you want anything? Some coffee…"

Rory grinned. "I just had two cups. I might need a break from coffee for a couple of hours."

"Yeah, right. So…"

Rory plopped down in one of the kitchen chairs. "At your service," she said, taking out a notepad.

Jess smiled. He made himself look into her eyes. If he ever did get over her, he would be forced to look into her eyes. Her kind blue eyes. Damn. He was digressing. "So I have to… well, I have to do a lot of stuff, like find a pediatrician for her, and an apartment and a real job, and get the kid some clothes and stuff for school and…"

"Ok, so I'll ask Sookie about the pediatrician," Rory volunteered. "And I so call the shopping project," Rory volunteered.

"I figured you would."

"I can…" Rory started, then stopped herself, thinking better off it. "Never mind."

Jess looked her in the eyes. "What were you going to say?"

Rory swallowed, taking a deep breath and regaining her strength. "I was going to offer to lend you some money. If you need it. Just until you get back on your feet. But you won't take it."

Jess blushed. He never blushed. Rory was surprised by him, every second. "Actually, I will," he replied. "Luke is helping us a lot, but I'd rather spread debt around, you know? Because it would be a loan. I wouldn't take it, but it's for her, so… fuck pride."

Annie yelled from the living room. "Jess, I heard you say fuck!"

Jess slapped his own forehead. Rory smiled at him as he mouthed, now silently, the same word. "Sorry, kid. Won't happen again."

Rory chuckled. "She's good."

"It's like living in a police station. She asked me at what age she could start smoking. I gotta watch everything I say and do," Jess complained, but with a smile.

"I'm so proud of you," Rory blurted out, almost unaware of what she was saying until it was already out of her mouth. She quickly covered her mouth and blushed. "I mean…"

Jess waved off her concern. "I know what you mean. Lane said to me yesterday that if I do this right, I can erase what I've done wrong. Do you think that's true?" he asked. It was almost an apology. Both his hands on top of the table, held together. Almost a silent prayer.

"I think…" Rory smiled… Bravely she reached over and placed one of her hands atop his. "I think it's never to late for redemption."

Jess looked at her sheepishly, and placed one of his hands atop hers, holding her hand. Really holding her hand. "I hope so."

Rory took her hand back, slowly, looking away from Jess. Her brave moment was over. "So, if we're gonna shop, we should get going."

She stood up and went to the living room to look at Annie, picking up Annie's jacket from the couch.

Jess looked up, in the general direction of the sky, and hoped.

"Yup, we should go," he said from the kitchen. "Annie, finish up that page. We gotta roll."

- - - - - -

"Looks good," Jess said, giving Annie a thumbs up at the tutu she had put on top of a pair of overalls.

Rory looked at Jess in disbelief. "You're insane."

"What? It looks good."

Rory shook her head. "She already has one tu-tu. That's all she's ever going to need. The overalls, yes."

"Ok, whatever you say," Jess replied. "Can we go now?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "This was your idea. Big baby."

"Annie wants to go, too, don't you kid?" he asked Annie, who was spinning in front of the wall-sized mirror.

Annie fell down on her butt. "I'm hungry."

"Good. Pizza break!" Rory agreed. "Go get changed, Annie."

Jess shook his head. "You are not passing on your eating habits to the kid."

"Aw, once won't hurt."

- - - - -

"You never told me what you've been doing in New York," Rory asked, biting into a slice of pizza.

Jess wiped some sauce off Annie's chin. "I was a bookstore slave."

"Really? You worked at a bookstore?" Rory nodded in approval. "I tried that once. I went deeper into debt."

Jess smiled, understanding. "This was a used book store. I tried to read a couple of books in store, but I couldn't take notes, so I had to buy them. Cheaper than new, and sometimes you luck out and find some good notes on them. I like a book that's been lived before."

Annie grabbed another slice of pizza. Jess raised an eyebrow. "See what you do?"

"Pizza has all food groups. Tomato sauce is vegetable, pepperoni is protein, there's grain in the crust, there's milk products… wait, I'm missing one," Rory mused.

Jess laughed. "So how about you?"

Rory's smile disappeared. "Well, you'd know. You've read my stuff".

"That's not what I'm asking."

"I'm not ready to talk about it yet. Maybe some other time." She took a swig of her cherry coke, looking away. "So tell me more about the bookstore."

Jess nodded. "Well, it was way better than loading at the docks, and on quiet days you could get a lot of reading done, and maybe even write a bit."

"You've write" Rory stated. Almost shocked, but not quite. Almost surprised.

Jess shrugged. "It was time I put all that book-learning to good use. Nothing's come of it, yet, though."

"Will you show me some of your stuff?" she asked, curious.

Jess looked down at his pizza. "I don't see why you'd want to read it."

"It's yours," she replied, simply.

Jess took a drink of Annie's soda. "Ok. Maybe later," he conceded. "I'll think about it," he added.

"That's all I'm saying."

- - - - -

Rory tuned the radio of the car on the way back.

"It's stuck in AM," Jess explained. "You'll only get country…"

Rory smiled. Just what she'd been craving. She turned the tuner knob the radio and found something she'd been looking for. Damn Lorelai.

"I like this song," she said, before singing along to an old Jim Croce.

"Operator? Are you kidding?" Jess asked.

She laughed. "Give in, come on. You know you want to…"

She grabbed a rolled up store catalog out of one of the shopping bags and stuck it in front of her mouth.

"Isn't that the way they say it goes

But let's forget all that

And give me the number if you can find it

So I can call just to tell'em I'm fine and to shooo-ooow…"

"Come on, Jess…" she said, sticking the fake microphone in front of him.

Annie got in on it as well. "Sing, Jess, sing…"

Jess rolled his eyes.

"I've overcome the blow

I've learned to take it well

I only wish my words

Could just convince myself

That it just wasn't real…"

Rory took the mike back…

"But that's not the way it feels… Oh, no no no…"

Annie clapped in the backseat, making up words to the song along with them.

When the song was over, commercials took over and the moment was lost.

But for a second there…

- - - - -

Jess pulled up to the driveway of the Gilmore house.

He left the motor running.

"Would you like to come in?" she asked.

Jess shrugged. "What do you say, kid? Wanna see Rory's house?"

"Do you have _The Lorax_?" Annie asked, trying to unbuckle her seatbelt.

Rory nodded.

"Hey, leave that on until I park," Jess told Annie, who stopped moving around. "What the lady wants…" Jess muttered. He parked the car behind Rory's rental.

Rory got out of the car and helped Annie out.

"So, do you think it's ok for me to come in?" Jess asked, locking the car.

Rory shrugged. "I think my mom is pro-you this time around." She led Annie by the hand.

"So you guys won't egg my car now?" he asked.

Rory feigned innocence. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Rory found the door locked. Odd thing. She looked in through the window and her eyes widened.

"Shit, shit, shit!" she said, fast, turning around and bolting down the stairs.

"Jess, Rory said shit!"

Jess, utterly confused, looked in through the window as well. "Aw, no, no, no…" He bolted after Rory.

Rory shuddered. "I didn't need to see that."

"Hey, me neither. No offense."

"Oh, none taken."

Jess shrugged. "So, your mom and Luke."

"I mean, I kind of knew, but…"

"Yeah, I didn't want front row seats either…" Jess finished for her. "Come on, kid. We're gonna go find something else to do."

"Let's go to Luke's. At least we know there's no action there…" Rory suggested.

"Let's."

"Come on, Annie. The Lorax is better as a winter read," Rory added. Jess opened the car door for them. "Next time, we call," Rory said, giving one last shudder.

"You don't have to tell me twice. Next time, I'm knocking before entering the diner."

"Oh, ew."

**TBC…**

- - - - -

**Author's note: **Hey, so I haven't been updating every day, it's a matter to do with my browser (I cannot update from my Mac or you'll get wonky spacing (which you've already been getting, I just notices too late) or section breaks. Also, I'm not writing as fast as I wish I could, and since I don't want to leave you guys with too big a gap between chapters, I'm spacing them out now to lessen later suffering.

But I do want to thank all of you for your wonderful support of the story, it's been wonderful reading your feedback and I hope those of you lurking around will feel comfortable enough to drop in, say hi, and tell me if this chapter sucked  .

In a very near future: movie night reinterpreted, Stars Hollow's Gazette, Kirk, Sookie who has yet to show up and much, much more… Keep tuned


	8. Antoine Doinel, Christine Darbon

**Author's note: **Yes, we will have Dean get mean. But the path to redemption is paved with ugliness, is it not? Enjoy. Oh, and if you feel like it, rent Truffaut's _Baisers Volés (Stolen Kisses)_. Oh, by the way, I love the description of this as Fluffy Angst… Thanks to sarahliz1624 for my new genre… and thanks to all of you that came out and read this. Anyhow, without further ado…

**Chapter 7 – Antoine Doinel, Antoine Doinel, Christine Darbon, Christine Darbon**

The apartment was dark when they went in.

"Anyone naked in here?" called Jess. Rory punched him in the arm. "Ow."

He flipped the light switch and let go of Annie's hand. Annie ran to the couch and grabbed her books, hugging them to her. "Can I read until bedtime?" she asked, looking up at Jess hopefully.

"Sure. Just… go put these away in the cubbyholes Uncle Luke gave you," Jess replied, handing her the shopping bags.

"Can I sleep in the ballerina clothes?" she asked.

"Just for tonight," Jess answered.

Annie ran off with her bags and books.

"She's not going to put those clothes away, you know that, right?" Rory asked Jess, plopping down on the couch.

Jess shrugged. "She's also going to sleep in that tutu until it disintegrates."

"How do you know? You had a tutu when you were little?" Rory inquired, raising her eyebrows.

"Cowboy hat, one of Liz's boyfriends had left it around," Jess replied, his voice tinged with bitterness.

Rory decided to change the subject. "So, about your writing."

"I said I'd think about it," Jess cut her off.

"Touchy. So we can't talk about my work, your writing, Ayn Rand, the beat generation and the Nouvelle Vague… Anything we can talk about?" she asked, pretending to be hopeless.

"Hey, I'll talk about Truffaut any day of the week…"

Rory's eyes lit up. "You know what? I'd love to watch _Baisers Volés_ again."

"It's probably censored behind the Rory Curtain at the video store," Jess quipped.

"Ugh, don't remind me," she replied, rolling her eyes. "It's gone now."

Jess smiled. "If you watch Annie for a while, I'll go rent it."

"No, that's ok, we can watch something on TV," Rory said, dismissing it.

"No, really, I'll go. I need to watch something light and French."

"Sounds like an ad for perfume," Rory pointed out.

"Or French Fries," Jess countered.

"Oh, now I'm hungry."

"No surprise there."

Jess grabbed his coat. Rory smiled. "Did you know French fries were originally invented by Belgians?"

"More on the original Serbian Waffle in a few minutes," Jess quipped. "If you go in there, ask the kid to read to you. She's a prodigy."

Rory nodded. "Will do."

- - - - -

Jess walked briskly to the video store. He looked behind himself, at the light upstairs from the diner.

This was possible. This… making good on his promises to himself.

The video store had changed its display on Disney cartoons to Pixar cartoons, a clear shift in ideology, thought Jess, shaking his head.

"You're not gonna last long, you know that, right?" he heard a voice behind him, speech slightly slurred.

Jess cringed, recognizing the voice's owner. He felt the hairs on the nape of his neck stand on end. "What's it to you, Dean?"

Dean stepped out of the shadows just as Jess turned to face him.

"You're the same punk you were last time," Dean contributed. "And you didn't last long before."

"Then I'll run my course and go away. Kind of like the flu," Jess quipped, grabbing the door handles to the video store, attempting to enter.

Dean grabbed Jess' shoulder. "How many you planning on infecting before you go?"

Jess shrugged Dean's hand off. "Leave me alone."

"Great comeback," Dean countered.

"What do you want, Dean? Come on. This isn't high school anymore. You figure you'll bug me until I punch you, then run me out of town on horseback, Rory cheering you on?" Jess pointed a finger at Dean, took a breath, then lowered his hand. "I've got my priorities straight now." He tried to enter the video store again.

"I had her first," Dean yelled into the store, making everyone inside turn to see him. He lowered his voice. "I had all of her, something you didn't have."

Jess balled his hands into fists, and turned to face him one last time. People in the store had stopped what they were doing. Everyone waited for the punches to fly. Jess whispered loudly, this wasn't for the entire town to hear. "Do you hear yourself? Geez, you were always such a gentleman... Go, Dean. Go back to your wife and kids." Jess turned back around to the store and started to look for the movie.

"Fuck you, Jess," Dean said. Then, looking around the store, he backed away from the door, leaving a fuming but unscathed Jess going through the movie boxes.

- - - - - -

When he got up the stairs to the diner, he could tell Luke hadn't returned yet. He found Rory and Annie asleep in the small cot. Rory seemed to have fallen asleep in the most uncomfortable position, her feet still on the ground, her head propped against the wall.

He covered Annie, tutu and all, with the light comforter, and sat staring at Rory. How asleep was she?

He took a deep breath and took off her sneakers.

He took a moment to admire Rory's new style of dress. She'd always been sober, but she seemed to have become even more practical. Sneakers, military green cargo pants, a T-Shirt that said "Kiss the Reporter" with a still from His Girl Friday. Probably a gift from Lorelai.

He tried to move her legs up on the bed and succeeded. He took a small pillow from the foot of the bed.

He slowly placed his hand behind her neck and lifted it just a bit.

Her face was so close to his.

If she could sleep through this, she could sleep through pretty much anything.

He placed the pillow between her head and the wall. That should help.

Jess stood up, admiring his work. This girl, no, this woman, who could eat like a truck driver, who could sleep through a train wreck, this woman…

He tried to push as far away from his mind what Dean had said. Did it matter?

Instinctively he leaned in to kiss her goodnight.

He hesitated, took a deep breath. He ran his fingers through her very short hair, and brushed his lips against her forehead lightly.

He took the phone and dialed the number of the Gilmore house. Straight to voicemail. "Hey, this is… Jess… So Rory fell asleep reading to Annie. If you want me to wake her, pick up…" A pause. He counted to five in his head. "I'll take that as a no. G'night Lorelai. Night, Luke."

He smirked as he hung up.

With the nagging idea that Rory was but a few feet away from him, he tried to fall asleep but failed.

He spent and hour watching her readjust her position until she found a more comfortable one.

When he saw her settle into a more peaceful sleep, he headed back to the couch and closed his eyes.

- - - - - -

"Did you hear that?" Lorelai asked Luke, who was asleep on the couch beneath her.

"Hear what?" Luke asked, sleepily.

The phone rang again.

"Let the machine pick it up," Luke suggested.

Lorelai, just awakened, looked around for a watch. "What time is it? It seems late."

Beep. "Hey, this is… Jess…"

Lorelai spoke at the machine. "Rory's not here…"

The machine continued. "So Rory fell asleep reading to Annie. If you want me to

wake her, pick up…"

Lorelai tried to reach for the phone, but her feet tangled in the blanket, and she tumbled to the floor. "Ouch."

"I'll take that as a no," Jess' voice continued.

"Noooo," Lorelai exclaimed, trying to pull herself up using Luke's arm for leverage. "Stop him," she added.

"G'night Lorelai," the machine said on.

"Let it go," Luke said, helping her up.

"Night,Luke," the voice finished, a smirk evident.

"Hey!" Luke replied. "How did he…"

Lorelai, still on the floor, narrowed her eyes at the machine. "I always knew that kid had a deal with the devil."

"So what now?" Luke asked.

- - - - -

Lorelai shrugged. "It'll be like a cold: it'll either run it's course or turn into pneumonia."

"I know you mean well with your metaphors, but…"

"Yeah, I know. Gotta find some other disease to describe that."

- - - - - -

Rory woke up startled, somewhere around three am. Confused, she looked around trying to remember where she was.

Annie was a clear indication. She got out of bed quietly, a pillow she didn't remember dropping to the floor. She picked up the shoes she didn't remember taking off, and tiptoed barefoot out to the tv area.

The television was on, really low, and the movie Jess had picked up earlier played. Jess's head was propped up by his hand, and he kept nodding off. On the screen, Jean-Pierre Leaud repeated his character's name and that of the women in his life, over and over. Really quietly, Rory approached Jess and whispered into his ear "Antoine Doinel, Antoine Doinel, Antoine Doinel," mimicking the film.

Jess sat up with a start. "Geez, you scared me."

"Sorry." Rory sat down beside him. She stratched and yawned. "Having trouble sleeping?"

"Yeah, all week," Jess admitted.

Rory looked at her watch. "I should go home."

"I left a message on your machine for Lorelai and Luke, for when they come up for air." Jess rubbed his eyelids, trying to scare the redness away. He paused the video. "Plus, it's late. You can't walk home all alone at this hour."

"Stars Hollow is such a dangerous place," Rory conceded, mockingly.

"If I let you go home now that will probably warrant me being run out of town," Jess reasoned.

"Ah, yes, the angry mob," Rory agreed.

Jess yawned. "But you should go back to sleep. The kid's small, there's space." He gave it a thought. "Or you can sleep here, if you like. Or Luke's bed."

"Oh, no, please don't make me!" Rory exclaimed.

Jess laughed, placing a hand on her mouth. "Sh… you'll wake her up."

Rory stuck out her tongue onto Jess' hand. Jess, surprised, pulled it away.

"You licked me," he whispered, astonished.

"You wish," Rory replied.

Jess, unable to help himself, took the bait. "I do."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up, Antoine, and watch the movie."

"Sure thing, Christine," he retorted, pressing play again.

- - - - -

How they ended up sleeping so close together, how her head ended up leaning on his shoulder, how their feet ended up on the coffee table, touching, how his arm wrapped around her shoulders, these were all mysteries of REM sleep.

But when Luke walked in, it seemed as if everything had been conscious decision. The TV screen, blue and bright, shone on their faces, while they took the shallow, long breaths of deep sleep.

Nearly six am, he didn't dare wake them. He quietly stepped into the shower and changed to go open the diner.

And the kids? They went right on sleeping.

**TBC…**

**- - - - - **

**Author's note Number 2: ** I want to take this opportunity to thank the readers… and feedbackers… and lurkers… Thank you for reading this insanity. And yes, to those of you that feared the cliché, I fear it right along with you. Will keep on trying to make this original. If you have any suggestions, keep 'em coming!


	9. As well as it can

**DISCLAIMER – **Yikes, I can't believe I forgot this for seven chapters. Uhm, I half own this computer, I do not own Cocoa Puffs or Pop Tarts, Gilmore Girls is owned by people who are not me. I'm playing with WB's toys, I plan on putting them back on the shelf when I'm done. Please don't sue.

**Chapter 8: As well as it can**

The following days were tinged with awkwardness for Rory and Jess. Their waking up together, to mumbles and apologies and general strangeness of the situation, distanced them for a couple of days.

They didn't actually know what to do. Did they ignore it? Did they just walk on by completely underestimating the power of having been that close? Did they pretend that it was not comforting to find each other so close? It was confusing enough.

But need has a way of bringing people together in spite of their awkward past.

So when the phone rang on Friday night, Rory's heart jumped and steadied quickly when Jess's voice appeared at the other side of the line.

And when he asked her to baby-sit Annie for a day or two while he went and cleared some things up with Liz, she not only agreed, but smiled at the thought that maybe, in a nearby future, things would not be as awkward.

And so on Saturday morning, when Jess showed up in Luke's pickup and delivered a little girl attired in overalls and a tutu, it seemed as if the awkward period had not existed at all.

"Hey, Annie," Rory said.

Jess, still a bit uncomfortable, gave Rory a small wave. "So, as you can see, new favorite outfit," Jess pointed out.

"I noticed," Rory said with a smile.

"Your mom?" Jess asked.

"At the Inn."

"Did you…" Jess started.

Rory's eyes widened. "God, no. Never going to mention that. Ever. To talk about it is to remember, and I like to leave my psychological scars alone, thankyouverymuch."

Jess chuckled lightly. "Yeah, Luke's been avoiding me these past few days. Car ride is gonna be fun."

Rory smiled back. "So what have you been up to?"

"Just… looking for apartments, Luke is gonna help us get settled. And figuring out school requirements so I know what to work out with Liz."

"Yeah, good luck by the way."

"Thanks."

Jess crouched to Annie's level. "Ok, kid, I'm gonna go to New York for a day, maybe two… but I'll be back before you know it."

"Will you see Mom?" Annie asked.

Jess cringed. He had known this would happen, this conversation. "Yes," he replied.

"Is she gonna come back with you?" Annie's eyes filled with joy.

Jess shook his head. "Liz isn't doing too good right now."

"Is she sick?" Annie asked, confused... scared.

Jess looked up at Rory for help. Rory sat on the floor and tried to explain. "Your mom has been very sad for a long time, and when you're very sad, sometimes you don't like to get out of bed, right?" Annie nodded. Rory took it as a cue to continue. "You feel like you're sick, even if you're not, and you are so tired that you can't take care of yourself. Does that make sense?"

Annie nodded. "Like when you have a cold."

"Right," Jess added. "And if you can't take care of yourself, you can't take care of other people. So right now, Liz… Mom… can't take care of you the way she should. So I'm going to do it for her. I'm going back there to ask her if I can."

"Will she say yes?" Annie asked. She seemed a little scared, but more than anything, confused.

"I hope so," Jess said, kissing the girl in the forehead. "But for now, Rory's gonna take care of you until I come back. Is that ok?"

Annie looked up at Rory. "Can we go visit the twins?"

"If their mom says yes," Rory replied.

"And you'll let me read you _The Lorax_?" Annie insisted.

"Of course I will," Rory said, her eyes on Jess.

Annie looked at Jess with the intensity of an adult. "I think I can handle it," Annie answered.

"You heard the woman," Rory said.

Jess shook his head. "You scare me sometimes, kid," he said to Annie, hugging her tightly.

He stood up and started towards the car, waving goodbye to Rory and Annie. Rory leaned in to Annie and told her to run inside. The girl did.

Rory stood up from the porch steps and crossed the front lawn quickly, catching Jess at the door of the car. She leaned in and kissed his left cheek.

"For good luck," she whispered, then ran off into the house.

As she closed the front door of the house, he could see her stare back at him, and he gave one last wave and mouthed his thanks.

- - - - - -

"I told you, you should have taken the last exit, but no, you know everything about the road," Jess said, turning the map over.

"My truck, I pick the exit," Luke retorted.

"Now you have to take the next off ramp, double back and take the sideroad," Jess volunteered, pointing to the sign up ahead.

"I know a shortcut," Luke muttered. He looked behind him in the deserted road. "Hold on, kid," he added, as he put the truck on reverse.

Jess looked behind him to the light oncoming traffic and double-checked his seatbelt.

Luke smiled. "Geronimooooooooooooooo…"

- - - - - - -

"Well, if there's one thing that can be said about Liz, it's that she has good genes," Lorelai pointed out, nodding towards the kid. "Cute, she'll be a heartbreaker like her brother in no time."

The sleepover and what Jess and Rory had seen were topics that still hung in between Lorelai and Rory, nagging to be discussed. Rory watched as the kid figured out a puzzle.

"It's a good thing we never throw anything away."

Lorealai grabbed a soda from the fridge, popping it open. "Where would you be without that Last Unicorn 2000 piece puzzle?"

"Did I ever finish that?" Rory wondered.

Lorelai nearly spat out the soda. "Are you kidding? You never opened it, remember? Afraid of horses, much?"

"Did you ever try it?"

Lorelai shook her head. "I did open it, though. There was a rebate coupon for Jenga."

"So that's how we got Jenga!" Rory exclaimed.

"Yup. Coupons rock."

Rory nodded. "That, they do."

- - - - - - -

"Twenty blocks," Luke muttered.

Jess shrugged his shoulders. "We could've taken the subway."

"We had to park twenty blocks away from our destination. Oh, I love this city," Luke added.

"But you're so, Hey, I don't take the subway, I'm a man, I can walk," Jess smirked. Luke gave him a withering glance.

"These aren't normal sized blocks."

"Ever heard the phrase, A New York City Block?" Jess asked, pointing to the nearest corner, far far away. "Well, that's what it means."

"I'm hungry," Luke added, as an afterthought.

"You hang out with Lorelai too much," Jess replied, patting Luke's back. "Come on, I'll get you a hotdog on the next stand."

"Twenty blocks."

- - - - - - -

"Nap time!" Lorelai declared.

Rory giggled. "The kid's been asleep for ten minutes now."

"I meant, for me. Duh!" Lorelai countered.

"Kids really do take it out of you."

Lorelai sat up. "No kidding. Everytime I visit Lane I want to send her a rescue mission or… a live-in nanny who sings about hills and how do is a deer, a female deer."

"How does she do it?" Rory wondered.

Lorelai shrugged. "No choice?"

"Must be it," Rory declared. "You want a pop tart?"

"Yes, please," Lorelai replied.

Rory went through the kitchen cabinets while Lorelai stretched out on the couch. It seemed to Lorelai that it was easier to talk if they weren't in the same room.

"So the other night," Lorelai started.

She heard a cabinet close. "What about it?"

"You and Jess…"

Rory came out of the kitchen with a pop tart in her hand. "Oh, no, you don't," she said, waving the Poptart around. "The only reason I was over there was because you two were abusing the couch."

Lorelai tried to brush it off. "It's a normal, natural thing."

"So is hanging a sock on the door," Rory countered.

"Hey!" Lorelai exclaimed, faking hurt. "It was my turn. I had to walk in on you and Dean."

Rory shuddered. "Yeah, but we were dressed. I saw arms… I saw legs… I…" she looked at the manhandled pop tart in her hand. "I can't eat this one anymore."

"There's another box on the cupboard behind the Cocoa Puffs."

"Thank you." Then, looking back at her mother, she sighed. "Sock on the door. Please? Just until I find some other place. Then you can even use my bed… Oh, God, tell me you haven't used my bed."

"Mommy can't hear you now. She's taking a nap," Lorelai replied, sliding down on the couch and closing her eyes.

- - - - - - - -

Jess rifled through his pockets, looking for a cigarette. He knew there'd be none, but taking the stairs up to the apartment where he'd been living the past four years seemed… daunting.

"Do you have a key?" Luke asked, as they stepped onto the landing.

Jess shook his head. "Don't need one," he said, approaching the door.

"Right, mastermind lockpick."

"No," Jess countered, turning the doorknob. "Unlocked door."

Jess pushed the door open, only to find Liz sleeping on the sofa. Jake was taking a beer out of the rusty fridge. The apartment had a familiar stench to it, shocking only by the fact that he'd not smelled it for a week.

Jake looked up from the fridge. "Well, if it isn't the little shit. Hey, Liz, look, your fuck-up's here."

"Hello to you, too," Jess said, going over to his mother, Luke right behind him.

"Hey, who told you to come in?" Jake asked Luke, who gave him a menacing glare.

Jess didn't bother to look up. "Come on, Liz, wake up," he said, shaking her a little.

Her eyes opened slowly, one of them a bit swollen. There was a new bruise on her lip. "My baby, you came."

"Come on, Liz, snap out of it," Jess added, helping her sit up. "Get me some water," he told Jake.

"I ain't getting you nothing. You're not my screw up," Jake replied.

Luke went over to the tap and grabbed a glass.

"We don't drink tap water around here, country boy," Jake contributed. Luke used the water to rinse out the glass and grabbed a pitcher out of the fridge, smelling it before pouring it out.

"Here you go," he said, handing the glass to Jess.

Jess shrugged. "Tap would've worked just fine," he said, splashing the entire contents of the glass on Liz's face.

Liz let out a surprised yelp, and taking one good look at Jess, she slapped him, hard.

"Good, you're awake. Now we can talk," Jess added, rubbing the spot she'd just hit.

- - - - - - -

Liz was throwing up in the bathroom. Jake had taken over the couch and Jess was intent on packing the things he had left behind the first time. He grabbed a cardboard box filled with bottles and emptied it atop his cot. He started with the Dr. Seuss books and worked his way through to his own.

"We're taking the subway back to the truck," he said, in Luke's general direction.

Luke nodded, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. He looked around at what he could only assume was Annie's bed. The sheets were filthy, there were hardly any clothes lying around, let alone toys. From what he'd seen of the fridge, food was scarce too.

"She's finishing up," Jess said, nodding his head towards the bathroom. "Once she washes her face she's good to go."

"Ok," Luke answered. He walked over to the bathroom door and knocked. "Liz, you alright?"

"Oh, I don't want you to see me this way," she said, and he could hear the water running.

"Come out, Liz," he insisted.

"Just a sec."

Jess went to stand by his uncle. "I'm all packed."

"Don't steal any of my shit," Jake added.

Jess ignored him, waving him off.

Liz came out of the bathroom, and threw herself at Jess's shoulders. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's ok, Liz, just…"

Liz smiled sleepily. "Right, my baby doesn't like to be touched."

She turned to Luke. "And my big brother…"

"Listen, we've come to talk about something serious, so maybe we should sit down," Luke started.

"Where's Annie? You brought her back, right?" Liz asked, leading them with difficulty to the kitchen table.

"Nope, and not going to either," Jess answered, taking a seat in front of his mother.

Liz's face completely changed. "You little shit. You have no right to take her from me, she's my girl, my kid!" she screeched, reaching across the table to scratch Jess's face. Jess pushed back his chair and she missed.

"Liz, calm the hell down!" Luke yelled, grabbing her arms.

"That asshole you have in the house, he… hit you, and bruised you, but you're all grown up. Your call. But he hits her and what do you do?" Jess asked, yelling. "Nothing! You sit here and do nothing!" He stood up and pointed a finger at her. "Wasn't screwing up my life enough? You had to go and bring another kid into your fucking mess…" Jess could feel the tears stinging his eyes, but he pushed them back.

"Jake didn't hit me, I fell," Liz countered. She started to cry.

"Yeah, you fall every time he happens to be pissed off, or happens to get drunk?" He looked over at Jake. "What did she do that was so wrong? Why make her a punching bag? I'm right here. Or are you scared to pick on someone your own size?"

Jake stood up from the couch. "Shut up, you little fuck."

"Stay out of this," Luke warned.

"Come on, Liz. All you have to do is sign a couple of papers, and we'll be out of your hair. No more mothering. No more fucking up. You can drink until you drown, no responsibilities," he said, taking the papers out of his backpack. He pushed them across the table at her. He placed a pen in her hands. "Come on, Liz. Sign. If you ever get your act together again, you come back. But sign this. It's what's best for the kid."

"Don't sign anything," Jake warned her. "They want to take everything we own."

"I said, stay the fuck out of this," Luke warned him, walking over to the couch and pushing on his chest until he sat back down. "I'm itching to hit you senseless for how you treat my sister and her daughter, but right now I'll settle for you shutting your mouth."

Luke's anger was a sight to be seen.

Tears streamed down Liz's cheeks. She scribbled her signature in every paper that Jess placed in front of her, mumbling, "I'm sorry" over and over again.

"Just sign it, Liz," Jess said, defeated. He felt as if he'd been knocked down in a boxing match, over and over again, and he kept himself on his feet by will alone.

Liz signed the last paper and handed the whole mess back to Jess. Jess placed everything in his backpack and gestured to Luke to get the boxes out of the room.

Jess started towards the door, then hesitated. He headed back to his sobbing mother, and bent down to hug her.

"I really do hope you get your shit together, Mom," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. Then he walked out slowly, leaving the door open behind him.

"And don't come back," Jake called out after them.

But Jess was already two flights of stairs down.

- - - - - - -

Luke had to run to catch Jess, who was already half a New York City block ahead of him.

"Jess! Jess! Wait!" he called. But Jess walked faster and faster. "Jess, the boxes."

Jess stopped. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve before turning to Luke. "Sorry."

Luke knew that Jess had been upset with his mother before, but he'd never figured out how much or for what reasons. Now, some things about Jess became self-evident. His distance. His anger. But his silence, his quiet apology, made it clear to Luke that this was not the time to discuss it.

"These are heavy," Luke said, handing one of the boxes over to Jess. "I think we should probably take the subway."

- - - - - - - - -

As soon as he'd gotten into the truck, exhaustion sunk in and Jess couldn't help falling asleep. The energy and self-restraint that had been needed for the situation had left him completely drained. Coupled with lack of sleep, it was no wonder he was out cold, his forehead pressed against the window.

Luke had never respected his nephew as much as he did now.

He drove fast, to Stars Hollow.

- - - - - - -

TBC…

**Author's note:** Hi all! Thanks for sticking by this. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, real life has it's way of screwing up with publishing, doesn't it? I hope you enjoyed this insight into Jess's life (I'm certain it's been done before, but here we are) and feel like reviewing. Hey, does anyone else feel like I'm making Annie seem less than seven years old? Tell me! It's been a while since I've crossed paths with a seven year old. And thanks again for the wonderful feedback on the last chapter.


	10. Someone else's tears, someone else's

**Chapter 9: Someone else's tears, someone else's fears**

The Gilmore house was quiet except for the buzz of the porch light. Inside, Lorelai and Annie had fallen asleep to a video of dancing cartoons, which Rory had by principle refused to watch. She sat on the porch steps, a book open on her lap, trying to concentrate.

But concentrating and waiting are incompatible actions, and as soon as she heard an engine approach, her eyes shot up to the headlights turning the corner.

She left the book on the steps and stood up. At another time, she would have thought twice about seeming so eager, but she couldn't stop herself now. She took a few steps towards the truck as it stopped.

The headlights blinded her to the people inside the car, so her impatience grew. The driver's side door opened and Luke's silhouette approached Rory.

"Very dramatic lighting," Rory said, smiling.

"Hey, Rory," Luke replied.

Rory approached Luke. "So quit it with the suspense. How did it go?"

Luke nodded, flashing her a grin. "It went as well as could be expected."

But Rory knew better. "You're not telling me something," she said, knowingly.

Luke shrugged. "Jess will fill you in on the details… but the kid stays."

"Oh, I'm so glad!" Rory's eyes, now adjusted to the light, could make out a figure inside the truck. "Is Jess…"

"He's asleep," Luke answered. "So about the kid…"

"She was great, and now she's asleep with Mom on the couch. I was going to move her to my bed in a little while," Rory explained, gesturing towards the house. "I'm planning on keeping her tonight, by the way. A sleepover is a sleepover is a sleepover."

Luke smiled. "Well, then, let me move her, she's a bit heavy for you," he said, heading towards the house.

Rory nodded. "Thanks," she said, watching him disappear into the house.

Slowly, checking that no one was watching, she walked around the car and got into the driver's seat, turning off the headlights.

Jess's face was still pressed against the window. It was dark, but Rory thought she could see some swelling on the left side of his face. Instinctively, she reached out to check, but pulled back just for a second, deciding instead to brush away the hair itching on Jess's forehead.

Jess felt the touch and emerged slowly from sleep, his eyes still closed when he asked, "Are we there yet?"

Rory smiled, "You're here," she answered.

He peered at her from half-closed eyelids, a smile slowly forming on his lips. "Hey," he said sleepily.

"Hey to you." A pause. "I heard the good news," she whispered.

"Yeah," Jess replied, his eyes opening completely at last and his jaw tightening. He touched the sore spot on his cheek as he tried to smile.

"What happened?" Rory asked, her hand finally making it to his swollen face. "Does it hurt?"

The touch of Rory's fingertips on his bruised skin sent shocks through him that managed to wake him completely.

"Nah, not really," he said, straightening up.

Rory searched his eyes, but she knew he was lying. Or more clearly, he was trying to be strong for her... He was trying to be strong, be a man, bucking up, like he'd done ever since he was little. Rory could see it all now, coming together. How he sheltered himself, how he had never been able to just be a child. How his books were not a choice but a hiding place.

"What happened?" Rory insisted, her voice shaking just a little.

Jess shook his head, dismissing Rory's concern. "Just Liz has a great right hook."

"Oh, Jess," Rory said softly, tears stinging her eyes.

In the scarce light inside the pickup, Jess could tell what was about to happen. The streetlights allowed him to see a tear shining on her cheeks.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He wiped away the tear with his thumb. "Sh… you don't have to cry, Rory. It's ok."

She shook her head, trying to choke down a sob, but she couldn't. "No… it's… not… ok," she said, her voice strangled by her tears, which just kept on coming. "I'm…sorry…"

"Hey, now, stop that, there's nothing for you to be sorry about… Please don't cry…" Jess begged, looking in her eyes. He pulled her close, until she was crying on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, tightly, and kissed the top of her head. "Please, Rory, don't cry…"

"I… can't… stop…" she said, choking on her sobs. "I'm… sorry…" she added, a couple of hiccups interrupting her speech.

She scared him. How she could feel so much for him, how she could be doing now what he'd fought against so many years.

"Shh… it's ok… it's going to be ok…" He rubbed her bare arm with his weathered hands, trying to calm her. "I'm going to be ok," he added, fighting back his own urge to cry, scream, hit something.

She looked up into his eyes with her tearful ones. "It's just that… no one was there… people hurt you and you were alone… and…and…" She was close to hyperventilating.

"Shhh… No one's gonna hurt me anymore," he reassured her, brushing his hand against her face. "Not me, not Annie. We have a home now, remember?" he added, trying to smile for her.

Rory snuggled in closer to him, sniffling. "I made a mess of your shirt," she said, slowly.

Jess chuckled lightly. "You can get me a new one. Now I've got your cooties all over me."

"My cooties have antibodies. They'll protect you," Rory volunteered, her breathing regaining its rhythm, the hiccups subsiding.

"You've always taken good care of me, Gilmore."

She tried to get a bit more comfortable. "Have I? Do I? I just bawled my eyes out. Instead of helping you, you consoled me."

He kissed the top of her head, taking in the smell of her prickly short hair. "Just keep doing what you're doing, Rory," he whispered. "It'll do."

- - - - - - -

They walked into the Gilmore house together, unwittingly with the same foot leading. Jess's arm surrounded Rory's shoulders, and they walked into the house a little sideways, unwilling to part with each other.

Rory's eyelids were still tinged in pink from the crying, and so was her nose.

Inside the house, Lorelai was sleeping on the couch while Luke watched the TV without sound. "Sh…" he said preemptively. "I put the kid in your bed," he added, gesturing to Rory's room with the remote.

"We should go," Jess said, nodding at Luke.

Luke shrugged. "When the movie ends," he replied.

"He's gonna fall asleep," Jess whispered to Rory.

Rory gave him a little smile. "It's too warm in here. Let's sit on the porch for a while," she suggested.

"It's almost 3AM…" Jess countered. "Danger outdoors in Stars Hollow."

Rory shrugged. "What's life without a little danger?"

Jess smiled. "Wild child."

"Don't you know it."

- - - - - - - -

The first rays of sunlight burst through Rory's eyelids, making patterns like paint drops on water. Everything blurred slowly came into focus and she noticed that what was closest to her nose was a jeans-covered knee. Second closest, a pair of discarded shoes. The next thing she noticed was the tingling of a finger twirling a small strand of hair, the weight of the rest of the fingertips resting against her scalp.

"Morning," a voice said from above her head. She tried turning around to face up but the sunlight was still too new. Also…

"My arm's asleep," Rory pointed out.

"Which one?" asked Jess.

Rory raised her free arm, the one that had not been pinned under her at night. "The other one."

"It'll come back soon."

"It better or I'm blaming you," she said, shielding her eyes from the sun with her good hand.

Jess chuckled. "Well, you're in a mood."

"I'm not a very early morning person."

"Neither am I."

"But you're up."

"Never fell asleep," Jess confessed, shrugging.

Rory sat up, her sleeping arm now prickly. "Why not?"

"Just didn't."

"So all night…"

Jess nodded. "I played with your hair and read _Suite Francaise_."

"Did you finish it?"

Jess shook his head. "Not done with the first book. How's your arm?"

"Pinpricky."

"No such word," Jess countered.

"Not playing Scrabble," Rory retorted.

Rory placed her back against the front wall of the house. The sunlight crept up the porch steps orange-yellow, softly, warming their feet and legs. She took the book and ran her fingers up and down the spine.

"Do you think it's wrong that they published it even if she never finished it?" she asked, curious.

"Wrong, how?"

"I don't know. It wasn't what she'd planned," Rory said, attempting to explain.

"Neither was dying," Jess pointed out.

"You know what I mean."

"Well, it says here she'd planned on publishing five books, but died before writing the last three. Imagine it this way, if the Harry Potter woman had died before finishing the seven books, wouldn't you have wanted to read the first and second anyway?" Jess pondered, taking the book from Rory. "Under regular circumstances, the entire _Suite Francaise_ would not have been published all at once, it would have gone one book at a time."

"Mr. Bookstore," Rory beamed.

"That's me. Revel in the information," Jess volunteered.

Rory paused for a second. She scooted over closer to Jess and let her headrest on his shoulder. "Harry Potter?" she asked.

Jess smiled at her proximity, at the smell of her hair. "You know what I mean," he replied, softly.

Rory smiled right back. "Yeah. I think I do."

- - - - - - -

TBC…

Author's note: I hope Rory wasn't too OOC here. She's never been that big a crier on the show, but I do think that she is very empathic sometimes, and I do think that she always wanted to understand Jess. Now she knows a little more about him, and this knowledge hurts. Does that make sense? Thanks for the lovely feedback and I hope you enjoy this as much as you've enjoyed the others.


	11. Friday Night Traditions

**Chapter 10 – Friday Night Traditions**

The week went by in a blur. Jess had to deal with a lawyer, landlords who looked at him remembering the rowdy kid he once had been, Taylor when he went over for groceries, Gypsy who seemed to be laughing every time he walked by with Annie in her tutu.

Seeing Rory every morning for breakfast was refreshing, but he almost had no time to see her, so he put it out of his mind. But every morning, he was up at six, and by the time Rory crossed the diner door, he was prepared for her smile.

It was Friday afternoon before he worked up the courage to call her, when Annie was over at Zach and Lane's.

"Pants or skirt?" he heard Lorelai reply.

In a heartbeat he turned seventeen again. Without even thinking, he pressed the off button.

"Oh, crap," he said, panicking.

No way could he call again now. He hit himself over the head with the phone a couple of times.

- - - - - - -

Lorelai was in the middle of a what-to-wear discussion with Rory. "The skirt is better, right?" she asked.

The phone rang. "I think that's a sign, mom. Go for the pants," Rory volunteered.

Lorelai shrugged. "We'll ask." She grabbed the phone with a smile, prepared to toss of a rant, but decided to start slow. "Pants or skirt?" she answered.

Click. Tone.

"Hey, hon, it's Jess," Lorelai said.

Rory gave Lorelai a quirky look and took the phone. "Hello?" she said into the dial tone. She handed the phone back to Lorelai, raising an eyebrow. "Funny, Mom."

"I answer, he hangs up. Nothing new there, right?" Lorelai explained. "Call him."

"Whatever mom. I gotta get dressed."

"Well, hurry. Your grandmother already said she would move the dinner to 8 so we could make it, if we don't make it there on time we'll probably just find a little pile of human bones…"

"Starvation?" Rory asked, taking the phone back from her mother.

"No, they'll eat the maid."

"I'll be ready in no time," Rory replied, running down the stairs.

Once in her room, she closed the door behind her and dialed quickly.

- - - - - - -

The phone was still in Jess's hand when it rang, and he was still beating himself up for hanging up.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hey," Rory's voice said back. "My mom said you called…"

"Uhmm…"

"And hung up…"

"Yeah. You know what they say about old habits…"

"You don't need to do that anymore," she said. "She's not gonna bite your head off."

"Right."

"So…" Rory started. "What have you been up to this week?"

"Getting into legal guardian mode."

"What's that like?"

Jess smiled. "Like getting a tooth pulled."

"So… uhm… do you need any help?"

"Well, yeah, but I was actually wondering if…"

"If…"

"If you'd like to go to the movies with me?"

"Oh." Silence. Jess could almost kill the silence.

"Yeah, there's an Antoine Doinel festival this weekend in Hartford… all the Truffaut movies with that character and I thought…"

"What about Annie?" Rory asked.

"Luke wants to take her fishing," Jess explained, laughing. "She thinks she'll see one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish, so she's all for it."

"Oh." Silence.

Jess thought maybe he should have hit his head harder with the phone. That way, if he was out cold, he wouldn't have to do anything like answer the phone.

"I mean, it's only if you want. I don't mean to…"

"No, I'd love to. It's just that I thought you'd want my help with Annie or something. I feel like I haven't helped enough."

"You've done more than enough."

"I want to do more."

Jess sighed. "Ok. I have to fill out some forms for Stars Hollow Elementary. You're a pro at applications. I'll go by your house early, we fill them out, and we eat."

"Indian food…" Rory volunteered.

"Whatever erodes your stomach lining better," Jess offered. "And then, if you're up to it, and there's no proverbial gun to your head, we can…"

"Jess…" Rory interrupted.

"Yes?"

"I already said I'd love to go. So stop rambling, it's enough with my mom."

"Right." Jess slapped his forehead a couple of times. "So…"

"Four tomorrow," she replied, a smile in her voice. "But now I have to go. Dinner with the grandparents."

"Good luck with that."

"Hey, Jess…"

"Yeah?"

"Is this a date?" she asked. Pause.

Jess closed his eyes and thought to himself he was busted, screwed, etc. "Do you want it to be?" he asked, tentatively.

"I don't know," she replied, honestly.

Jess took a deep breath. "It's whatever you want it to be, Rory."

"Ok. Good," Rory said, sounding a little bit relieved. "What do you want it to be?"

Jess chuckled nervously. "Now, that's cheating."

"Ok. Yeah."

Jess sighed. "We can talk about it tomorrow if you like? Though I'd rather just… not."

"Ok."

"You have to go now."

"I do."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok. Goodnight, Jess."

"Goodnight, Rory."

Jess clicked the phone off and shook his head. She knew him too well. It was scary. Scarier than anything else in his life at the moment.

With that thought in mind, he grabbed his jacket and went to pick up Annie.

- - - - - - - - -

For the first time in three years, Rory rang the doorbell of her grandparent's house. She straightened her dress, and readied her smile. Lorelai stroked her adult daughter's back, knowing it was a hard thing to do, this, coming back.

It was her grandmother who opened the door. Her hair was tinged in silver, a woman too dignified to die her hair past a certain age. As she had once said, blonde sixty year olds were named Pennilyn Lott, and she would not allow herself to be bumped into that category.

"Rory," Emily Gilmore said, a smile widening in her lips. "Oh, darling, it's so good to see you…" she added, hugging her.

Rory allowed herself to be hugged. Her grandmother backed away and smiled at Lorelai. "Well, it's about time we did this again."

Lorelai smiled relieved. "Yes, it's been ages…"

"Well, come in, come in. Leave your coats on the coatstand there…" Emily said, guiding them into the living room.

Rory's eyes, wide, looked at her mother. "The maid?" she whispered.

Lorelai shrugged. "They ate her?"

They walked nervously into the living room. "Richard, just look at her…"

Rory faced her grandfather after such a long time. Yes, they had kept in touch, and she had paid him back for the Yale money, but still. It was a shock to see him aged.

"Don't look so surprised, Rory," Richard Gilmore ordered. "I just decided to follow Emily's lead," he added, running his fingers through her hair. "My, you are a woman now."

Rory blushed, and ran up to her grandfather and hugged him tightly. "I missed you," she said, gushing.

She separated and looked at her grandmother as well. "I missed you both so much. I gave your love to the Sheltons in London."

"Always a lady," Emily said, proudly.

Lorelai shrugged. "I did my best to undo all that European culturing, but it was such good work that there was no way…"

"So, you'll have to tell us all about it," Emily said.

"Emily, let the girl breathe. Drinks?" Richard asked.

Both Lorelai and Rory nodded.

As her grandfather poured, Rory thought quietly as to how to deflect talk of her work, but knew that she would be forced, at least here, to talk of it pleasantly for a while.

- - - - - -

The streets of Stars Hollow were almost empty. Entering the second half of summer, a few kids had been shipped off to camp, a few parents had gone on vacation. The town was quiet even for a Friday. It almost made him suspicious of secret town meetings.

As he walked back to the diner with Annie, they both ate a lemon popsicle each.

"Is it any good?" he asked her.

Annie nodded. "Better than the ones in New York," she said, skipping along.

They cut through the town square.

Jess's plans to stop momentarily at the Gazebo were foiled by the presence of Dean and his wife, walking in the opposite direction with two kids in tow.

"Jess, can't we stay here for a little while?"

Jess shook his head. "Better not. If you're going fishing with Uncle Luke, you have to be up early."

Dean didn't seem fazed by the presence of Annie. "Hello, Jess," he said, sarcastically. His wife sort of herded the kids along past them, and stood off to a side.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Dean asked.

Jess rolled his eyes. "No, I was going to walk right by you."

"Hello, kid. I'm Dean."

Annie took a step back. "You're too tall," she said. "I'm Annie."

"Yeah, so I heard." Dean's eyes lit up for a second. "So did your brother tell you why the town doesn't like him?"

"No," replied Annie.

"You're a real asshole, you know that?" Jess said, guiding Annie along.

"You said asshole, Jess," Annie said in a loud whisper.

Jess shrugged. "I'm sorry kid, I'll explain later. Let's go."

Dean added, "I'll see you around, Jess."

His wife tugged at Dean's jacket. "Come on, Dean. Leave them alone."

Jess used the moment to get away from him and go up to the apartment.

Once inside, both Jess and Annie started taking their coats off.

"Why does the town hate you, Jess?" Annie asked.

Jess had known this time would come, time to explain what had happened before, Dean's anger, the town's discontent, but he had hoped it would take some time. Damn Dean.

"When I was a kid…" Jess started.

"Like me?" interrupted Annie.

"Older," he clarified. "When I was seventeen, I came over to this town. But I was angry back then."

"Why?"

Jess sat Annie down on the couch and sat next to her. He clasped his hands together. "A lot of bad things had happened to me. Liz was sick… like she's now… and a lot of her boyfriends had been mean to me."

"Like Jake?"

Jess nodded. "And I had no one to take care of me."

"Because you didn't have me," Annie reasoned.

Jess nodded, a smile on his lips. "Or anyone else. So I came here to live with Luke, but I was so angry I didn't see that he cared about me. And I did some things, pranks, fights… things I'm not proud of."

"And then what?"

"And then I didn't go to school enough, and lied a lot, and then I left without saying goodbye."

Annie shook her head. "Why?"

"Because I was not proud of what I had done, I thought if I went to say goodbye, everyone would say how disappointed they were. So I just… disappeared."

"Did you do anything to that tall man?" Annie insisted.

"I… took something away from him," Jess started. "Something he loved very much. And I never apologized. And his anger towards me became hate."

"What if you apologize now?" she asked.

Jess searched his mind for a way to explain. There really was none, no clear way. "I think, for some things, it might be too late."

"You could try," she suggested.

Jess smiled at the kid. Too smart for his own good. "Yes. I could try." He nodded to her. "I will try next time."

"Good," she added, content. "It's good you're not mean like that, anymore."

"Yes, it is."

- - - - - - -

"And then that man in Soweto said he'd give me the haircut of a reporter, and told me to close my eyes, and this is what I got," Rory finished, causing a laugh to explode all around her. "I guess he'd only ever cut male journalists' hair before."

"Well, I think it looks lovely," Richard countered.

Emily pursed her lips. "Well, it certainly is different," she said, taking a last sip of wine. "Dessert?" she said, getting up from the table.

"Uhm, Mom, is there a reason there's no maid today?" Lorelai asked. "You haven't gone broke, have you?"

Emily looked sternly at her daughter. "Lorelai, please." She turned to Rory to explain. "I felt like this should be a family time, and so I told them to leave everything ready and take the night off. No strangers."

Lorelai smiled at her mother's intentions. She took the napkin from her lap and left it atop the table. "Come on, I'll help with dessert." She pointed to Rory and Richard. "You two, bond."

Rory and Richard couldn't help laughing. But when it subsided, Richard did have questions for his only granddaughter.

"So, Rory," he started, dabbing at his lips with a cloth napkin. "What are your plans?"

Rory took a deep breath and looked at her Grandfather head on. "Honestly?"

"I wouldn't expect anything else," he added, his smile encouraging.

"I'm taking a year off," she replied.

He let the napkin fall on top of the table. "Why did you come to that decision?" he wondered, sternly.

"Have you ever felt that you're not experiencing your life?" she asked, softly.

"Elaborate," he asked of her, kindly.

She shrugged lightly. "I walk through my work as if it was a regular office job. No offense," she corrected.

"None taken."

"But my work… it shouldn't be that way. I deal with these people and then I just… leave them. Not looking back."

"That is what happens in the world of journalism."

Rory nodded. "Well, I need time to find another way of approaching it. That or a way of dealing with the nature of that world."

Richard took a sip of wine.

Rory expectantly looked at his grandfather.

"What does your mother think?" he asked.

"I haven't told anyone about this."

Richard Gilmore nodded. "I'm glad you've decided to confide in me. I understand fully why you've made this decision. I hope you find the way." He took a second to take in his granddaughter's relieved smile. "You might find some ideas in the journals of explorers and chronicle-writers. They faced this problem, the deepening of bonds versus the desensitizing of themselves. I have a few I could lend you."

Rory's smile widened. "Thank you, thank you so much. I would love to read them."

Richard nodded. "You're alright financially?" he asked, less concerned than curious.

"Yes, I am."

"Good. Now, Emily and your mother are about to come back. So let's look like we're talking Chaucer."

- - - - - -

The drive back to Stars Hollow breezed by, but Lorelai seemed tired after arriving home, and headed to bed with scarcely a word. Rory, however, was jumping off the walls. Her fingers itched, and she dialed almost without thinking.

"Hello?" Jess answered, then paused. "Luke Danes' residence," he added.

"How formal," Rory said, smiling.

She could hear Jess shuffle to his feet. "Hi," he said, nervous. "How was dinner?"

"Enlightening," she replied.

"Good. Good."

"So…"

"Yes?"

"About tomorrow?"

"Yes?"

She took a deep breath and braved it. "I want it to be a date."

Jess was shocked into silence.

"Jess? You still there?" Rory asked, her finger fidgeting with her necklace.

"Yes. Here. Shit. Ok."

"Huh?"

"Sorry. Just shocked is all."

"Is it ok with you?"

Jess took a second. "Yes. Very."

"Good. So we leave the forms for some other day. And…"

"And?" he asked, afraid. There was more?

"Uhm… you pick me up at eight?"

"Yes. Right. At eight. I pick you up. Good."

"Jess, are you alright?"

"Just trying to figure you out," he confessed.

Rory laughed. "We'll have time for that."

Jess paused. Ok. She planned for them to have time to figure each other out. Ok. Breathe. "Uhm, just one thing," he said, nervously.

"Shoot," she said, her heart on a string.

"If the date sucks, can you still help me with the kid's school forms? 'Cause I can't figure them out," he said. He laughed nervously, just a bit.

Rory laughed. "If the date sucks, I'll fill them out for you."

"Rory, don't give me that good a reason to make a date suck. These things are in ancient Aramaic."

Rory chewed on her thumb for a second. "Hey, stop complaining. Either way I'll help you."

"Ok."

"Ok."

"So tomorrow, at eight."

"Yes."

"Good."

"Good."

"'Night, Rory."

"Goodnight."

- - - - - -

**TBC…**

**Author's note: Thank you thank you thank you for all the wonderful feedback. Please feel free to criticize what I'm doing here mercilessly, I'm open to suggestions and feedback is learning! **

**Anyway, as you see, Dean got mean again. Don't worry, I'm planning on getting things back on track here. But just picture the resentment for a second. No, Dean is no wifebeater, as he's sometimes portrayed in Lit fanfic, neither is he a saint. Things will get better… I think.**

**Also, I'm trying to keep the Jess essence without loosing the changes he's been through. And I just addressed the haircut issue (I actually had it written this way before your question, my anonymous reviewer, but it's nice to know y'all were curious. I realize I'm taking a long time between some updates, it's a mixture of real life vs. my need to have written at least three chapters ahead of **

**what I'm posting…**

**Toodles, and thank you for stopping by….**


	12. What it means to be ready

**Chapter 11: What it means to be ready**

Jess had all day to go insane. All day. So why did he have to start so early?

At six am, he had a seven year old ready to go fishing, a bag packed for an overnight stay.

"You've been having way too much excitement these past two weeks," Jess told the kid, putting sun block in the bag.

"You're just jealous 'cause you're not going fishing," Annie replied.

"Yeah, that's it," he conceded, yawning.

Luke came back from putting all the stuff in the truck. "So Lloyd's in charge of locking up tonight, you're in charge of opening tomorrow morning. That ok?"

Jess nodded. "It's fine." He handed Luke the bag. "See that she puts on sunblock every three hours." He fidgeted a bit with the hem of his shirt. "I feel like I'm not taking enough care of her."

"You're doing fine."

"Yeah, well… so she learned to swim at the Y last summer, but try not to test that, ok?"

"I've rented a life saver jacket for her, anyway, but we'll just be fishing off the pier," Luke assured him. He placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "I'd say don't worry but I know you won't listen. So here," he said, pulling a cellphone from his jeans pocket.

"I don't like…"

"Tough," Luke said. "I have one, you have one. My number's stored there. If you don't know how to work it, go downstairs to the diner and find a toddler, he'll teach you."

Jess shook his head with a smile. "Thanks. I'll call you."

"Good," Luke said. "Come on, kid, let's go."

Annie ran up to Jess with a couple of books in hand. "Bye, Jess," she said, starting off. Jess grabbed the back of her t-shirt.

"Wait, kid," he said. "Come on, gimme a hug."

"Aw, Jess, come on…"

"What? Afraid to get my cooties?" he asked, lifting her off the ground and hugging her.

"I won't catch yours. You don't get cooties from your brother," she explained. "Now let me go, the fish will go away if we're late…"

He let her back down on the floor. "Ok, kid. Have fun."

She bound down the stairs. "Wait for me, kid," Luke called after her. "You have fun too," he told Jess, going down the stairs after her.

- - - - - - -

Lorelai became suspicious as to what was happening at about nine in the morning.

"So Chris and Gigi are dropping by tomorrow, so we can't eat at Luke's tomorrow," Lorelai said, giving an unwarranted explanation. "So we should go now and have breakfast at Luke's," she added.

Rory, who was already dressed but looking inside the closet, shook her head. "No!" she exclaimed. "I mean, I can't. You can go, if you want. I…"

"Did you fight with Jess on the phone?" Lorelai asked, narrowing her eyes.

"No… actually…"

"Actually what?"

"I sort of asked him out on a date," Rory explained.

Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "You asked him?"

"Well, yes and no. He asked me first, but I asked if it was a date, and he said it was whatever I wanted it to be, and I sort of implied I didn't want a date but then after dinner I called him and said I did want it to be a date and so it's a date," Rory said, out of breath by the end of the sentence.

"That's the most I've heard the word date in one sentence," Lorelai said, counting her fingers.

"And now I have nothing to wear and I can't have breakfast."

"Now you lost me."

"I can't go to Luke's on the day I have a date with Jess!"

"Ok…"

"And I'm hungry."

Lorelai sat down on the bed. "Sit here, sweets," she said. Rory let the closet alone and sat beside her mother.

"I'm insane, aren't I?"

"No. You're a Gilmore. We're not insane. We're a bit touched in the head."

"Ok."

"And as Gilmores, we always have a plan."

"We do?"

"We're going to Weston's, then we're going to pick up Lane, tell Zach to babysit, and then we're going shopping for a cute date outfit," Lorelai said.

Rory smiled. "You serious?"

"What?" Lorelai asked, smiling. "It's our only hope. It's either shopping, or your I-heart-Christiane-Amanpour T-shirt over your Chilton skirt."

"I love you."

- - - - - - - -

"Ok. What do you think?" Rory asked, coming out of the dressing room.

"Too dark," Lane offered.

"Hello, Marilyn," Lorelai added.

"Ok, it can't be too dark and too Marilyn," Rory argued.

"It can if I meant Marilyn Manson," Lorelai countered.

"Ok, so no," Rory concluded, looking herself over in the mirror. "Agh, I haven't gone shopping shopping in a LONG time. I'm all confused."

"Well, it's Jess, so anything too fancy or too frilly is sort of out," Lane reasoned.

"Yes, but at the same time, it's a date, right? And you two never actually dated dated. So an upgrade could be expected," Lorelai countered.

"Ok, I don't see any suggestions coming," Rory said. "And I'm starting to panic."

Lorelai stood up. An idea. "Lane, come with me. I think I saw something that might work, but I want a second opinion."

"Don't leave me alone," Rory whined. Lane looked pitifully at Rory while Lorelai pulled her away.

"Trust me, babe," Lorelai called.

Rory shook her head and headed back to the dressing room.

- - - - - - -

Jess had never had such a hard time choosing between two shirts. On the one hand, the green was new-er. On the other hand, the blue one was his favorite.

The pants thing had been easier. He just grabbed his least-worn jeans.

"Fuck it," he said, taking advantage of the kid's absence to use a swear word. He grabbed the blue shirt. It was more comfortable. He looked good in it.

He didn't want too look like he was trying too hard to look good. But he didn't want to look like he didn't care.

He was about to reach for his leather jacket, but he thought twice. He looked through his things for the newest jacket he had, not too new, but not so old. Drab green but not stained.

He felt like a girl.

He looked at his watch. It was seven, and he still had to call Luke and stop at Doose's.

He took a deep breath and… made a cell phone call.

It rang twice before Luke picked up. "Yeah," he answered.

"Nice to know the manners run in the family," Jess quipped.

Luke grunted into the phone. "Kid, it's your brother," he called out. Footsteps could be heard running towards the phone.

"Hey, Jess, guess what, guess what?"

Jess smiled into the phone. "What? What?"

"I caught a fish called trout and then I threw it back in the water. It splashed!" she explained, talking at full speed. "And then I watched a boat go by and they said hello to us and we said hello back and they saw we hadn't caught anything and they gave us these fishes with whiskers on them. And when they were gone I threw them back too. Oh, I gotta go, the one in the bathtub is jumping," she finished, handing the phone back to Luke.

"Kid? Hey, Annie?" Jess called to the empty line.

"She ran off to the bathroom," Luke answered, picking up the phone.

"There's a fish in the bathtub?" Jess asked, laughing.

"She threw perfectly-good, already dead catfish back into the water," Luke said, and Jess could almost picture him rubbing his forehead. "I was able to get a couple of trout but have to keep 'em alive until she isn't looking."

"She's all for animal rights," Jess suggested.

"She ate fried catfish for dinner," Luke countered. "And loved it."

"So you're having a good time?" Jess asked.

"Eh, she's an ok kid," Luke conceded. "So, what are you up to?"

"Getting ready," Jess said nonchalantly.

"Big date," Luke stated.

Jess rolled his eyes. "I gotta go. Tell the kid I said goodnight."

Luke nodded. "Will do. Put the phone on mute with the top button. If we need you, at least it won't be a killjoy."

"Will keep that in mind. See you guys tomorrow," Jess said, clicking out the call.

He looked into the mirror one more time, put on his shoes quickly, and walked out the door.

- - - - - - - - -

Doose's was almost empty. The aisles were easy to navigate this way, less people to stare at him.

Jess grabbed the last couple of things and headed to the cash register.

Just his luck.

Dean.

Jess sighed. "Hey," he said, placing the things at the register.

"If it isn't Daddy Dearest," Dean said, his voice low. He didn't want to call attention, didn't want to be the bully in the town's eyes.

Jess took a deep breath. He remembered his promise to Annie. "Look, Dean. You don't like me."

"Evidently," Dean said, scanning a can of soda.

"And I'm not extremely fond of you either. But we're adults now, right?"

"What's your point, Mariano?" Dean said, pausing his work. It was a relatively aggressive whisper Dean spoke in.

"My point is, there's no need to drag the kids, yours or Annie, into this. We can be civil."

Dean smiled. "You couldn't before, so why should I start now?"

"Do I really need to explain it? Did you see your wife's face yesterday when she saw you act like that? Did you see your kids? Did you see Annie's face?" Jess handed Dean the last of his things to scan. "We won't ever be friends. But we don't need to be assholes, either." Jess took a deep breath. "You were always the bigger man, Dean. There's a reason Rory chose you when I came back that time. Now we're in very different places, and I'm trying. I really am. But maybe I need you to be the bigger man again, keep me from punching you out."

Dean didn't nod, didn't shake his head. But he straightened up in such a way that Jess knew he'd hit a chord. "It'll be 17,98."

Jess handed him a twenty and bagged the rest of his stuff. Dean placed the last two things in the bags. "Keep the change," Jess said.

Dean nodded.

It was the closest they would get to a truce.

And it was good enough.

- - - - - - -

The car pulled up right on time, the headlights streaming through Rory's window while she fixed her hair.

The knock came right on time, as Rory tied her necklace.

"I'll get it," Lorelai called, predicting that Rory didn't want to seem too eager.

"Thanks, mom."

Lorelai opened the door and, yes, it was Jess on the other side.

"Hey, Jess, glad you didn't use the window," she said, giving him a warm smile that told him it was a joke.

"Hi, Lorelai," he said.

Awkward silence.

"So, come in," she said, nodding towards the living room. "She'll be right out. You can wait on the couch."

"Thanks," he said.

Lorelai leaned in as he walked in. "Nervous?" she asked.

Jess nodded, placing his hands in his pockets and heading to the couch.

- - - - - - -

Lorelai walked into Rory's room. "He's here," Lorelai said. Rory was sitting on her bed, her hands on her knees. Lorelai sat down beside her. "He's a nervous wreck, too."

"Good to know," Rory said, taking deep breaths.

"Come on, kid. Time to face the music," Lorelai encouraged.

"Ok. Ok." Rory stood up, grabbed her purse, and opened the door.

- - - - - - - - -

At the sound of Rory's door opening, Jess instinctively stood up.

He kept his cool, but just barely.

"Hi," he said, softly, as she approached.

She wore a pair of low sandals, and a blue-flower print cotton dress. To Jess she looked like… she looked like spring. And suddenly he'd turned into a Disney cartoon.

"Hi," she replied, stopping in front of him.

They stood in front of each other, smiling nervously. Rory looked into Jess's eyes and figured he was the more nervous of the two, the way he shuffled his feet. She leaned in and kissed his cheek softly.

"I'm gonna get my jacket," she said. Suddenly, she noticed something. "Hey, my jacket looks just like yours," she added, showing him.

Jess looked at it, grabbed it and turned it over. "Aw, great. My first date ever and I'm wearing a girl's jacket."

"If you want I can save you from yourself. I can use another one," Rory offered.

"Hmm… I have a better idea. How about you say it's a man's jacket."

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Any man's?"

"Uh…"

"I'll say you bought two, one for me, one for you. How about that?" Rory volunteered, pulling on the jacket and opening the front door.

Jess shook his head. "I knew I should have worn the leather jacket," he said, following her out the door and closing the door behind him.

From the hallway, leaning against the wall, Lorelai smiled.

- - - - - - - - -

TBC…

**Author's note:** I know, I know, transition chapter. Just to keep you on your toes while I get ahead with the chapter I'm working on. To tell you the truth I wasn't going to post for another couple of days, but this morning when I woke up I had been dreaming of feedback (I swear, cross my heart and hope to die), that I had gotten a ton of it, and when I went to check my email, my dream had come true. So here's to dreams coming true. Next chapter, I promise, the date…

I get what y'all are saying about Jess being nervous, but I do love the early episodes, where he would push to see how far he could get Rory's boundaries to bend, but at the end of the day it was Rory who took charge, as in, she kissed first. But I hear you, and I'm roughening him up for the next few chapters. We all love the bad boy. Thanks for reading, now tell me what you think!


	13. A date is a date is a date

**Chapter 12: A date is a date is a date**

The car ride started awkward.

"So…" Rory started.

Jess kept his eyes on the road. "So…"

"I'm nervous," Rory confessed.

"Me too. Why is that?" Jess replied. He gave her a small smile.

"Well you've always made me nervous. You made me stammer there a couple of times."

"Yeah, I was scary back then," Jess offered. "Am I still?"

Rory looked at him intently. "Just a little."

"Good to know my rep hasn't been shot to hell."

"Oh, no, you're still the most dangerous man in Stars Hollow," Rory offered.

"You scare me, too," Jess confessed, quickly, giving Rory a fleeting look.

"Oh, it's club I'm in. Jason, Freddy, Michael Myers and me."

Jess shook his head. "No. You're… I can't explain it."

"It's ok. Not everything has to be spelled out."

"Good."

"Good."

Rory looked around the car for something else to concentrate on. "What are those bags in the back?"

Jess smiled. "A surprise."

"They say Doose's."

"That they do."

"So what kind of surprise can you get at Doose's?" she asked.

"Well, if I tell you, will it still be a surprise?" Jess asked, slapping her hand away from the backseat. "Wait until we get there."

"Where?"

"The movies."

"You're irksome, Dodger."

- - - - - - - - -

"So close your eyes, now," Jess said, turning a street corner.

Rory looked at him in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"Close your eyes," he asked again.

"But why?"

"Agh, damn the foreign correspondent in you. Just stop asking questions and close your eyes or I'll stop the car and we'll be late."

- - - - - - - -

"How far now?" she asked, when she heard him lower the window. Maybe he was taking a ticket for the movie theater parking lot.

"Almost there."

He parked and turned off the car engine. "Don't move, don't open your eyes."

She heard the door opening, the sound of something clanking, then him sitting back in the car and closing the door. Suddenly she started to hear music inside the car. Movie music.

"Open your eyes," he said.

Her eyes adjusted quickly in the car's darkness. They were in a drive in.

"No way… I've never been to a drive in," she said.

He reached into the backseat and handed her the bag from Doose's. "Surprise."

"Food!" she said, smiling giddily as she dug into the bag. "Oh my god, movie food. You got popcorn and licorice, and dingdongs, and jujubees…" She turned to him with a monster grin on her face. "Thank you, Antoine," she said, just as _The 400 blows_ began.

Jess smiled just to see her smile so widely. "Anytime, Christine."

"You are aware that in two or three movies he cheats on Christine, right?" she said, chewing on a licorice stick and offering him another.

He took the licorice and grinned at her. "Don't ruin the moment."

Rory smiled and looked toward the movie.

- - - - - - - -

It had only been the first two movies, and they were over all too quickly.

"When do they play the others?" she asked Jess, once the films were over.

Jess looked at the amount of wrappers strewn around the car. "Did you eat everything in the bag?"

"Hey, I wasn't eating all alone, now, was I?" Rory mock-complained.

"I think they play the other two next Saturday," Jess said, avoiding the complaint.

"We should come back to see them," Rory suggested.

Jess watched Rory consume the last of the snowcaps and smiled. "Yes. We should."

- - - - - - - - -

The drive back to Stars Hollow was definitely more relaxed and it seemed to be over faster. Rory leaned against the open window and allowed the wind to brush her face, softly. Before they knew it, they were already near her house. The path to the bridge was close by when Rory said, "Stop the car!"

Jess brought the car to an almost screeching halt. "What, what is it?" he asked.

"No, it was nothing, I just…" Rory looked out to the town streets, the darkened houses. The town was already asleep. "Let's go for a walk"

Jess killed the engine. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Come on, let's go," Rory insisted, getting out of the car. Jess followed, locking the doors.

"Rory, what is it?" he asked. "I gave you too much sugar, is that it?"

Rory shook her head. "I want to show you something," she said, taking his hand and running out towards the bridge. "I'd forgotten all about this."

"About what?"

"Come on!" she said, running faster.

She stopped abruptly when they got to the bridge. "It only happens in the summer," she said, pointing towards a small patch of grass.

"What only happens in summer?" Jess asked, confused.

"What time is it?" she asked, ignoring him.

"Two forty-five."

"Look, it's started," she insisted, tightening her hold on his hand. She pointed again to the patch of green. "Night bloomers."

Jess squinted to get a better look. It was true. One by one, hit by the moonlight streaming through the tree leaves, the flowers opened, bright and fleshy. They were beautiful.

"You and I, we never had a summer together. I didn't get to show you," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, her eyes looking straight at the flowers that popped open one by one.

Jess slowly turned to face her. "Rory?"

She looked to him, smiling. "Did you like it?"

He nodded.

"It didn't suck, did it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He smiled nervously, then shook her head. "Not at all."

"Good," she said, taking his other hand.

She was being extremely forward and he was grateful for it. He was… too nervous for his own good. She inched closer.

"Jess?" she asked, a whisper.

"I'm having trouble breathing here, to be honest," he said, lacing his fingers with hers.

"Luke won't barge in this time," Rory whispered. She took one step forward. He took one as well. Their noses touched.

Their hands at their sides, Jess said, "This is good. I can stay here."

"I was thinking a little closer," she suggested. "If that's ok with you," she added, breathlessly.

"Uh-huh," he agreed, nodding. His lips brushed hers. Once. Twice. He caught her lower lip between his own and that was that.

His fingers disentangled from hers and went to her waist, then her hair, then her back. She was for a moment taken aback, responding to the kiss but unaware of what her hands were doing, until they found his waist.

It felt as it had before, but there was a renewed intensity, a knowledge of this being their one last chance, off chance, to start again. His tongue delved into her mouth and she reciprocated. The kiss heated up and slowed down, until they parted for air.

Rory kept her eyes closed, her hands stayed anchored on Jess. Jess touched his fingers to her lips, brushing them until her eyes opened to meet his.

"Hey," he said, whispering.

"That still works," she whispered back.

Jess chuckled. "I'm not so nervous anymore," he volunteered.

Rory shook her head. "Me either."

"Maybe that was it."

"Maybe we should've gotten it out of the way sooner," Rory offered. "Like in Good Will hunting…"

Jess shook his head and put a finger to her lips. His valor was back, he was once again in control. "Shh…" he said, before leaning in to kiss her again.

- - - - - - - -

They crossed the bridge by foot and took the shortcut through the neighbor's lawns, stopping every few feet to look at each other again, which invariably led to kissing.

They didn't want to discuss what it meant, or how they had gotten here. They walked with hands clasped, and he would pull her towards him and kiss her forehead.

On the porch steps to the Gilmore house, Rory paused to look at Jess.

"I…" she started, losing her nerve.

"Tomorrow's a good day for talking too," he said, acknowledging her need to overanalyze. "I think we should just let it be tonight."

Rory nodded. "It's nice that it just is," she said.

He ran his fingers through her pixie hair and smiled. "Almost bad-movie-like first date. Kiss goodnight and everything. Though I didn't bring you flowers."

"Jujubees trump flowers every time," Rory offered. They were so close that her lips brushed his when she spoke.

"I forgot one other thing," he said, interrupting every other word to kiss her.

"What?" she asked.

He gave her a slow kiss, the warmth of his mouth almost making her forget she'd asked a question.

He moved his mouth to the corner of her mouth, kissing then along the jaw and nearing her ear, he whispered. "I didn't tell you how beautiful you look tonight."

He kissed along the column of her neck. "Tell me now," she whispered, almost an order.

He stopped kissing her and looked straight into her eyes. "You are so beautiful," he whispered.

She smiled, looking at him through half-closed eyelids. "I should go inside," she whispered.

He brushed his lips to hers, then pressed his forehead against hers. "Now I have to go and sleep with you in my head."

Rory took a deep breath. "Be comforted by the fact that you won't be the only one having R-rated dreams tonight," she said, her fingers running through his hair. She brushed his lips and he took it as a sign. He pressed against her lips and pulled her closer by the waist, his mouth drawing her further and further away from her thoughts and doubts. Before they knew it, Rory felt herself almost pinned to the door, pulling Jess closer and closer with every breath.

Her head hit the door lightly and it brought her out of the haze. "Ow," she said.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I just sort of… "

"Yeah, I know," Rory said. Her hands traveled to his jacket front. "If I don't go inside now, I'll end up going home with you, and I don't think I'm ready for that."

Jess nodded. "I don't think I'm even ready to hear you suggest it," he said understandingly. "Not that I don't want it to happen. Very much. Do."

Rory giggled.

Jess shook his head. "Right. Sorry." He took two steps back. "I should go then. I have to open the diner early…"

Rory nodded.

"Goodnight, then," he said. "I'll… call you… tomorrow."

"Yes. Do." Rory said, turning to open the door as she walked up the steps. "Wait, no. My dad's in town tomorrow. So… call tomorrow night. Or tomorrow very early. Or…"

"You call me?" he asked.

Rory nodded. "Yes. Good." She opened the door and took a step inside. "Goodnight, Jess," she said, closing the door behind him.

Through the window beside the door, Rory watched Jess walk down the porch steps and into the neighbor's lawn, until he disappeared into the night.

TBC…

**Author's note**: Well, how was it? Did it live up to your expectations? It was quite fluffy, I must admit, but this gives us the start of two things:

Trust between Rory and Jess will start to increase…

I will finally begin to justify my rating (which I know y'all are looking forward to).

Next chapter, we will have… well… news.

Thank you for all the lovely feedback. It does inspire me to write faster, I must admit. But actually, the best part of feedback is it keeps the story in the front pages, making it easier to find for us ffnet newbies. So please, give me ideas, shoot me down, tell me what you love, then tell me what you hate. But please, say something…


	14. Pueblo chico, infierno grande

**Chapter 13: Pueblo chico, infierno grande…**

Jess woke up to the incessant beeping of Luke's alarm clock, coupled with the incessant vibration of the cell phone on top of the dresser.

He took the phone first, tried to answer it, but no one was on the other line. He opened his eyes to slits and saw that it, too, had an alarm set.

"Damn Luke," he muttered, sitting up to shake off the groggy morning feel.

Five in the morning.

He walked into the bathroom and splashed water on his face. In the mirror, he found himself oddly different. He smiled, thinking of the scene in the movie he and Rory had watched on the couch a week back. "Jess Mariano, Jess Mariano, Jess Mariano, Rory Gilmore, Rory Gilmore, Rory Gilmore…" He shook his head, letting the water drip and fly up to the mirror. "Agh, I'm going insane," he added, running a hand through his hair.

He pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of beat-up jeans, and stepped into his shoes.

Grabbing the keys to the diner, he thought to himself it might turn out to be a good day.

- - - - - - -

He turned the lights of the diner on, turned on the gas, turned over the chairs. Wiped the counter.

He put the sodas in the freezer, popped the oranges into the squeezing machine.

And then he went to open the door.

The first surprise was the amount of people walking the street at six in the morning. All seemed to be headed to a small stand on the square, where Kirk sat behind a huge stack of newspapers.

He'd never know Stars Hollow to be a place that kept up with current events.

He unlocked the door and opened the blinds. He turned the closed sign to open as the sunlight started to filter through the windows.

And at that very moment, a newspaper boy in a bike tossed a paper at the diner door.

Well, if there was a paper-boy, what was Kirk doing selling extra copies? Back issues?

Questioning Kirk had never yielded positive results so he just swung the door of the diner open and picked up the copy, which was inside a plastic bag for safekeeping.

_Stars Hollow Gazette_, brought to you by Doose's Market.

Pretty thick to be the Stars Hollow Gazette.

Jess walked into the kitchen unfolding the paper, looking to get himself some coffee and wait for the deliveries to start rolling in.

And then he saw it, right below the marquee and a small print that read "Our Largest Issue Ever".

A headline that read, "Jess Mariano is back."

And not far below, a picture of him and Rory, from when he'd won the basket she'd made at the auction, almost ten years before.

Jess let out a scream of "Fuck" that luckily did not make it outside the diner's encasing, or he would surely have made the front page of the next Gazzette.

He looked on. Almost every page of the paper was related to his presence. His car being egged, the chalk outline incident outside Doose's, an interview with Babette, a short pros and cons comparative list of Dean vs. Jess.

He looked the pages over for the writing credits and found none.

In a style not unbecoming Luke's nephew, he walked across the diner, out the door, across the street, through the square, to Kirk's table, where Andrew from the bookstore and Gypsy were buying their early paper.

"Here for extra copies, Jess?" Gypsy asked.

Jess glared at her, and cut in line, slamming a copy in front of Kirk. "What the hell is this, Kirk?"

"It's… It's…" Kirk stammered. "It's the _Stars Hollow Gazette_, renovated since the town crier gave up his job 150 years ago. One of the oldest papers in the tri-state area."

"Kirk, don't make me hurt you," Jess clarified. "You know exactly what I mean. What is all this crap about me? Is Taylor trying to run me out of town?"

"Well, yes, actually. But this just made good business sense," Kirk explained.

"Who wrote it?" Jess asked.

"Well, the _Stars Hollow Gazette_ is the product of a collaborative effort by a skilled team of reporters that work diligently…"

"Who wrote it, Kirk?"

Kirk cowered behind the stack of papers. "Taylor and I did," Kirk answered. "But part of it is just rehashing of news from the last time you were here."

"I was in the _Stars Hollow Gazette_ the last time I was here?" Jess asked. "Unbelievable."

"Yes, but the circulation was much smaller," Kirk volunteered.

People behind Jess started to get rowdy. Jess looked behind them. "Hey, go home. The paper boy's already doing rounds," he called behind him at the line forming.

"Yeah, but I want one for my scrapbook," Gypsy replied.

Jess thought it over, then turned back to Kirk. "How much for the whole stack?" Jess asked, taking out his wallet.

"Well, I don't know, I'd have to count…" Kirk said, trying to measure the stack by eye.

"Ballpark it, Kirk," Jess insisted.

"Twenty dollars."

"I'll give you fifteen," Jess negotiated, waving the three five-dollar bills in front of Kirk.

"Sold," Kirk said, standing up and taking the money. He folded his chair. The crowd behind Jess groaned.

Jess took the stack of papers. "One more thing, Kirk," Jess added. "Tell Taylor I'm going to find him. He and I need to have a little talk. Got that?"

Kirk nodded as Jess headed back to the diner, thirty newspapers under his arm.

- - - - - - - - -

Rory woke to the sound of her cell phone vibrating on her bedside. It was a soft buzzing sound, and it woke her gradually. There still wasn't all that much light out. Sleepily she reached for the phone and answered without glancing at the number.

"Hello?" she said into the phone.

"Hey," Jess replied. "It's me."

Rory sat up a little, a smile creeping on her lips. "Good morning. You're up early," Rory commented, her eyes still closed.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Jess apologized. "Just wanted to warn you about something."

Rory yawned lightly. "Sorry, sorry, I'm listening."

"I didn't mean to wake you, but I wanted to catch you before your dad got there."

Rory nodded, then realized the futility of this action. "Right. Ok. I just nodded. Duh. Uhm, what did you want to warn me about?"

"I'm in the _Stars Hollow Gazette_. Well, actually, we are."

Rory's eyes flew open. "What, from last night?"

"No. NO. Uhm, just a lot of crap and a couple of old photos. Kirk said it was rehashed from the last time they did an issue on me. I never knew."

"Well, it had a very small circulation," Rory explained, smiling into the phone.

Jess appeared surprised. "You knew about this?"

"Well, about last time yes. About this time, I suspected something like this would happen. If you merit a town meeting…"

Jess placed his forehead against the wall of the diner.

"Jess. You ok?"

"Yes. No. This just sucks."

"Yeah. Pueblo chico, infierno grande."

"Huh?"

"Just something my Spanish teacher used to say. Small town, big hell. Just… there's no privacy here, remember? If there was a news channel, we'd be on it, caught on the bridge's candid camera."

Jess panicked. "There's a camera there?"

Rory laughed. "Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Take a deep breath."

"Ok."

"This is what happens here. Sooner or later they'll learn to get you," Rory encouraged. "And you won't be newsworthy anymore."

"It's been ten years, Rory."

A plate crashed in the diner.

"Not for them, it hasn't," she explained. "Are you in the diner?"

"Just opening. Cesar's doing… something… in the kitchen."

Rory bit her lower lip. "Would you like me to come over?"

Jess knocked his head against the wall repeatedly. Yes, of course he would.

"What's that noise?" Rory asked.

"Uh, just… dishwasher. Uhm, no, you don't have to come, Rory. Actually, it's probably better if you don't. One-man freak-show gets less stares than the whole circus, you know?"

Rory laughed. "I do. Though I resent being compared to the bearded lady."

"So you'll call later?" Jess asked.

"You're such a girl," Rory replied.

"Ouch."

"I'll call you later, baby," Rory said, deepening her voice. "Like, whenever."

"I'll be waiting by the phone," he quipped. She laughed into the phone line.

The bell of the door rang, announcing a new customer. "Hey, Rory, I gotta go. Hungry people who couldn't get their paper this morning."

"Ok. Hey, Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Welcome home."

- - - - - - - - -

Jess took an order and walked back behind the counter. Lane was waiting tables this morning, looking at him funny every chance she got. She was itching to ask about the date, but knew she had to reserve questions for Rory, not him. He'd asked the perfunctory questions about Zach and the kids, volunteered little, offered to take the twins for a day the week after they went to the grandparents.

Waiting for the two burgers and one order of onion rings, Jess went over everything he still needed to ask Rory, everything Rory would ask of him. He'd never explained to her why he'd left California, he'd never told her about his taking to the road for a year with nowhere to go after he'd last seen her. He'd told her so little it seemed as if it would take a lifetime just to explain what had been happening in his life since then.

But she hadn't seemed to mind not knowing, as long as it meant she got to keep some things of her own quiet.

But now, and this Jess could admit to himself as a girl thing, now that they'd kissed, he felt again as if he needed to know everything about her.

This obsession, it was dangerous and it had led him down dark spirals before. He still admired her so, that her disappointment was one thing that rested deep in his mind. And all the rest of her stayed lodged in his mind throughout the day, distracting him to the point of -

"Hey, Jess, wake up," Cesar said, almost in his ear. "Six is up."

Jess nodded, taking the plates over to their rightful owners.

"You ok?" Lane asked. "You spaced there for a second."

Jess shook his head. "Just haven't slept much these last few weeks, is all."

"Do you want to take a break now?" Lane suggested. "I could cover your tables."

Jess smiled at her, in a way that made Lane understand, for a flash of a second, what Rory saw in him. "Nah," he said. "We'll rest when we're dead, right?"

Lane smiled back, raising a fist. "Rock and roll," she added, heading towards table 8, where a man waved a menu at her.

- - - - - - - - -

"Roryroryroryroryroryroooooooooryyyyyyyy!" came a battle cry, roaring through the front door and tearing down the house with a cowboy hat on.

"Well, if it isn't Georgia Blue!" Rory called from the kitchen. "How are you, kid?"

"I'm a lady now, my mom says," Gigi countered.

"Well, you sure do look like one," Rory conceded.

"Where's Lorelai? I killed her in the living room last time I was here," Gigi explained.

"She mustn't have gone far. Go look back there," Rory volunteered, as her father walked into the kitchen.

Christopher Hayden hadn't aged a bit. His eyes were the same, unfazed by divorce, but shocked at the sight of his adult daughter, while his other child ran to play cops and robbers in the living room with his ex-wife.

"Hi, dad," Rory said, giving him a small wave. Their relationship had always been odd… good times and bad, on and off periods.

"Wow, kid, you look…" he started, unsure how to finish. He walked up to her and gave her his best rendition of a fatherly hug. "I like your hair."

"You lie."

"I do… it has an air about it. Sigourney Weaver in _Alien_."

"It's not even close to being that short," Rory rolled her eyes. "But I see my future in a couple of movies, and I don't like it."

"You do look good, though," Christopher added. "So your mom told you, right?"

"About the divorce?" Rory asked. Her father nodded. "Yeah. It's nothing three years of therapy won't cure."

"You two never took me seriously," he reprimanded.

"I never did what?" Lorelai asked, walking into the kitchen. Gigi was settled on the couch watching a movie.

"You un-died?" Rory asked.

"She let me rise from the dead to find her a pop tart," Lorelai explained, looking inside the cabinets. "So you were saying?"

"Dad thinks we never took him seriously," Rory said, bringing her mother up to sped.

Lorelai gave Chris a kiss on the cheek. "I did too, Christopher. Except that one time when you asked if I would marry you."

"You laugh now, but this hurt a year ago," Christopher countered.

Lorelai nodded. "But we're both better now, aren't we?"

Chris nodded as well, conceding. "We've always been better apart than together." He shrugged, lifting the cloud of seriousness off the conversation. "So what's this I hear about you taking a break?" he asked Rory.

"Oh, just… a vacation from all that traveling," Rory explained.

"Is it wise, so early in your career?"

"When else would it be wise?"

"Good point."

Rory grabbed a pop tart out of the box for herself.

- - - - - -

It was dark out when Annie arrived holding two bright orange goldfish and tracking mud into the diner.

Her hand held high above her head, she gave Jess a grin with one front tooth missing.

"Hey, when did that happen?" Jess asked, taking hold of the goldfish so Annie could give his legs a hug.

"Last night," she answered, holding him tight.

Luke, carrying the gear in, shrugged. "I think she swallowed it when she was brushing her teeth."

"I did not," Annie replied, indignant. "It disappeared."

"It did?" Jess asked, humoring her by widening his eyes.

"Went POOF," she explained. "And in the morning the Tooth Fairy brought me Brian and Lee," Annie added.

"Because they're twins," Luke explained.

Jess looked the two goldfish over. "Some Tooth Fairy," he said, taking Annie's hand to lead her upstairs.

"It's the River tooth fairy," Luke explained

Jess smiled at his Uncle. "Yes, town tooth fairies bring other kinds of stuff."

"Cats?" asked Annie.

Jess cursed his own words in his mind. "We'll see when the time comes. Let's go find these twins a home."

- - - - - - - - -

Annie sat on the floor to take off her muddy boots while Jess looked for an acceptable fishbowl. He found a medium sized jar and rinsed it. That would have to do until morning. He was in the process of pouring out the fish into the bowl when the phone rang.

"Kid, can you get that?" Jess asked, trying not to lose any fish down the drain.

Annie ran to the phone barefoot, and took it off the hook.

"Say hello," Jess instructed.

"Hello," Annie said into the receiver. Silence.

"Ask who it is," Jess suggested.

"Shh, I can't hear what they say if you talk, Jess."

"Sorry," he said, giving Annie an amused look. Two fish inside the fishbowl. So far, so good.

"It's for you," Annie said, handing the phone to Jess. Jess dried his hands and took the phone.

"Hold on a sec," Jess said into the receiver. Pointing to Annie's room, he said, "Go put on some socks"

Annie skipped over to her room. He held the receiver against his ear again. "But I'm already wearing socks," Rory's voice mocked from the other end of the phone line.

"Hey," he said, a smile creeping over his face.

"Hey," she replied. "So, she's back?"

"With one less tooth and two new goldfish courtesy of the River Tooth Fairy."

"Cute," Rory couldn't help saying.

"What do you feed fish?" Jess asked.

"Fishfood," Rory replied, wisely.

"Right. And I'd find that where?"

"Pet store."

Jess sighed. "I hope Brian and Lee make it overnight without food."

"Brian and Lee?"

"From now on, all twins are Brian and Lee."

Rory laughed. "Well, I think they'll make it through the night."

Jess carried the makeshift fishbowl into Annie's room. "Rory, will you give me a sec?" he asked.

"Sure."

Jess put down the phone and placed the makeshift fishbowl on a small table not far from Annie's bed. "So, kid, you want to take a bath now?"

"Tomorrow morning, pleeease? Uncle Luke made me wake up soooo early. I'm soooo tired."

Jess nodded, kissing the top of her head. "Ok. Then it's lights out."

"But I wanna read," she argued.

"Either you're too tired or you aren't. Pick."

"Just a little while?" she insisted. "Pleeeease?"

Jess grabbed the phone and nodded. "Five minutes."

Annie nodded and settled to read. Jess walked out of the room.

"Hi again," Jess said.

"Oooh, strict."

"Someone has to set the rules here. Tonight it's books, tomorrow she wants to date a Harvard man."

Rory laughed. "That would be your nightmare."

Jess rolled his eyes. "So how was visiting with your dad?"

"Well, it went ok, Gigi's huge now."

"Your sister?"

"Yeah. I feel sort of guilty now that I haven't seen her grow up. She's a lady now," Rory said.

"Ah, you'll catch up."

"Hey, are you implying I'm not a lady yet?"

"Hey, change of subject now."

Rory smiled. "Good."

"So…"

"So what are your plans for tomorrow?" Rory asked.

Jess took a shocked breath. "Are you asking me out on a date, Gilmore?"

"In your dreams, Mariano." Rory took a look at the picture of her and Jess in the _Stars Hollow Gazette_ before turning the page to the Pro-Con lists. "Hey, you're not too popular with the editor of this thing."

"Aw, please, don't read that crap," Jess insisted.

"Closing it right now," Rory said, skimming Jess's pro list.

"Liar," Jess said, laughing. "So, why did you want to know about my plans?"

"Well, my reasons are threefold," Rory explained.

"Expand."

"Number 1: I don't want Annie's fish to starve in an old mason jar."

"Point taken. Next."

"Number 2: We have forms to fill."

Jess smiled into the phone. "That would be nice," he conceded.

He looked at his watch and walked over to the door of Annie's bedroom, killing the light.

"And thirdly… " Rory started.

"Aw, Jess," came a cry form inside Annie's bedroom. "You're mean."

"G'night, kid," he said back. "I'm sorry, you were saying."

"I concur with Annie. You are mean."

"No such animal," Jess replied, slumping on the couch.

"I was saying that, thirdly, I have a surprise for you," Rory finished.

Jess sat up straight at that. "You do?"

"Yes," Rory said, calmly.

"Is it R-rated?" he asked, jokingly.

Rory bit down on her lower lip. "Don't you wish."

"I do," Jess countered. Nice to know his bravery was coming back.

Rory shook her head. "It's PG. Tops. Kid can come with."

"Just as well," Jess said, feigning hurt.

"So, what time should I stop by?"

"I'll be up early to help Luke out. Drop by for lunch?"

"Good. That gives me time to catch up with Lane."

"Great. You're trying to keep me on the front page of that town rag, aren't you?"

Rory smiled. "Remember to take deep breaths and repeat, I will not freak out."

"I will not freak out…" Jess took a deep breath. "Goodnight, Rory."

He hung up the phone and, all of a sudden, noticed a rush of steps, followed by a loud thud on the floor of the apartment. Jess turned to find Luke standing over the pile of newspapers.

"Can you explain to me what a hundred copies of the Stars Hollow Gazette were doing in my storeroom?" Luke asked.

Jess shook his head. "Long story. You can read all about it on page 5."

**TBC…**

- - - - - - - --

Author's note: Well, that was some more transitional semi-fluff. Expect me to live up to my rating within the next few chapters (yey!). It won't get TOO graphic, but be warned, it will get some graphic. I love that you guys are leaving me such cool feedback, it fuels this baby up.

Hey, I'm also in the mood for writing a one-shot. Do you guys have any ideas you'd like me to explore? Feel free to drop me a line.

Hope you enjoyed it.


	15. On the menu

Chapter 14: On the menu…

Rory's hands itched.

It was something that didn't happen to her often after she started working. It usually happened after a week or two of doing nothing. Vacationing had never been her strong suit. In fact, she was pretty lousy at resting in general. Yes, she could read a book and relax with the best of them, but she couldn't spend two weeks just reading. She felt… lazy. It had happened during the short stint she had lived at her grandparents. And it had driven her crazy.

She needed a project. But right now, she had to settle for Lane's project. Painting the kitchen cabinets while Zach took the kids to his parents' house in the city for a week-long visit.

"It'll be nice to have some alone time, you know?" Lane explained, brushing a coat of neon pink on the cabinet handles. "Visit my mother, read a book, have sex," Lane enumerated, her voice lowering on the last item.

Rory choked a laugh and coughed. "Too much info."

"The twins don't sleep well during summer," Lane explained. "They wake up all the time."

"So… how's your mom?"

Lane smiled. "Point taken. Change of subject. So… How was the date?"

"Would it sound too corny if I said it was perfect?" Rory asked.

Lane nodded. "Very. Especially since it's Jess. He doesn't do perfect."

"Well… it started out awkward. And then it just… well, it wasn't awkward anymore," Rory attempted to explain.

Lane dipped the brush into the pink can pensively. "Ok. Spill. You're all mysterious."

"He kissed me," Rory said, as Lane lifted the brush.

"He what?" Lane said, spilling two dollops of paint on her shirt. "Oh, crap."

"Well, I sort of caged him, and then we were really close so it was the only logical thing to do. I mean, it was either kiss me or back away and make a run for it."

Lane gave up the painting altogether. "I'm not following."

Rory shook her head. "We kissed."

"One time?"

"Many times," Rory corrected.

"So the whole just friends thing?"

"Out the window."

Lane sighed. "I don't want to say I told you so."

"Yes, you do."

"Yes, I do." Lane walked over to the fridge and took out two sodas. "You and Jess… It was always a train wreck waiting to happen, you know?"

"It was. Past tense. That's the big question, right? What about now?"

"I guess you'll just have to try…" Lane said, wisely.

Rory nodded. "I know. So… choo-choo…"

"What was that?" Lane asked, laughing.

Rory shrugged. "Train whistle?"

- - - - - -

Rory walked to the diner with her arms and hands still stained with hot-pink paint, not fully dried. Her walk down the town square was interrupted by a t-shirt.

She had run into Dean's torso.

It had been over three years since she'd seen him last. Rory'd heard around town about his getting back together with Lindsay, about his two blonde children, about his graduation from community college. The town whispered these things around her, loud enough so she would hear, but low enough so she would know they said it disapproving of what she'd once done.

And Dean was still so… tall.

"Hey," he said, taking a step back.

She smiled. Why not? It was Dean. They had been good at one time. They could be… civil now. Better than civil. Right?

"Hi!" She gave him a short, awkward wave. "How are you? My… you look…" she said, grasping for words.

"Old?" Dean asked, smiling back.

"-er…" she added on. "Older."

"Yeah. Kids will do that to you," Dean volunteered.

"So I've heard," Rory agreed. "So how've you been?"

"Good. Good," he said. "You?"

Rory tilted her head sideways. "Taking a short break from work."

"Right. I've read your stuff. It's really good," Dean offered.

Rory cringed inside. Right. "Thanks. So what have you been up to?"

"Work. Lindsay and I are opening a house ware store soon. I'm making furniture… but until we open I'm doing a few shifts at Doose's."

Rory nodded. "I'm happy for you. I was wondering when we'd run into each other."

Dean nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "So, where were you headed?"

"Oh, lunch at Luke's," she said, dismissive. She knew he was going for the golden question. Dean's smile dropped.

"So, Jess is back."

Rory nodded. "Yup." And she thought to herself, _don't go there, Dean_.

"And you and him…" Dean started.

"Is not something I want to get into now, talking with you," Rory replied, as politely as she could. "Look, Dean, we haven't talked in years and…"

"Whose fault is that?" Dean asked, sadly.

"Mine. Yours. Both of ours. But… I just got here. I just saw you again. Let's make this a catching-up conversation that ended nicely. Let's make this a nice ending," she pleaded. "You and I were best friends once. And I think, if ever we're going to have a conversation that ends without us yelling or hurting, it starts now. Small talk. Now."

"You're bossy."

"That's not small talk."

"Uh. You got a haircut," he volunteered, trying to smile.

"You got a moustache," she replied.

Silence. Rory didn't know what else to say.

"Maybe sometime we'll have coffee," she tried.

Dean attempted a smile. "Yeah, maybe. It was great to see you, Rory," he lied.

"Same here. I'll see you around town." Rory concluded. She let him walk away first. Then she headed towards the diner.

- - - - - - -

Jess watched from the diner window as Rory and Dean talked near the Gazebo. She watched her body tense in the distance, then relax again as he walked away.

She was tense around Dean.

This was new.

Well, a lot of things were new in Stars Hollow. A couple of stoplights. Computerized voting.

Scratch that. Rory being uncomfortable near Dean, that was new.

Jess tried to stop himself from an inner celebration. He took a deep breath as Rory approached, her hands and arms and blouse stained hot-pink. She saw him looking at her through the window. She frowned.

_Smooth move_, he thought. He finished wiping the table closest to him and went over to the door to greet her. Not that he could greet her properly right now. What with half the diner staring.

Annie colored on the countertop, away from all the action.

"Hey," he said. "Good color," he added.

Rory looked down. "I guess you saw that."

"Yeah," Jess replied. Deep breath. "Want to talk about it?"

Rory shook her head. "Not now. Maybe later."

"We're gonna have a lot to talk about when that later finally comes," he joked, leading her to a table.

Rory took a seat and grinned. "You planning on sticking around for the later?"

"Hell, yeah," he said, taking advantage that Annie was out of earshot. "All this mystery? I gotta know what happens next."

"Good to know," Rory replied, biting her lower lip.

Jess took another deep breath - what was it, third one so far? – and restrained himself from swooping down and biting her lower lip for her. "So, what would you like?" he asked, taking out the order pad.

And then he heard her say, "You."

- - - - -

Jess wasn't sure how suspicious Luke became when he asked for a break. Annie, of course, still choosing crayon colors for Bambi, was oblivious to the entire undertone of the scene. But Luke knew that face on Jess. First off, Jess had just been asking for Rory's order. Next thing he knew, Rory had gone off to the bathroom under the pretense of washing her hands, and five minutes later she still wasn't back but the bathroom door was wide open. And then Jess asked for a break.

It didn't take a brain surgeon.

So when Annie asked if she could go upstairs to look for her blue crayon, Luke suggested she paint the sky green.

- - - - -

Jess opened the apartment door and was surprised to find the apartment empty.

Very surprised.

Surprised enough to call out. "Rory?"

Rory stepped out of the closet.

Jess walked over to her. "Uhm, is there something you'd like to tell me or does that action speak for itself?"

"I was afraid Luke would come upstairs before you did," she explained.

"So…" he said, closing the gap between them. "I just wanted to use this private moment to inform you that I'm not on the menu at Luke's diner."

Rory opened her mouth to retort but thought better of it. She attacked his mouth, almost throwing off his balance. Her lips clung to his, and her hands held firm, one at his waist, one clutching his shirt near the shoulders.

It took him a moment to get over the shock. He took a couple of steps forward, his mouth never leaving hers, and somehow ended up pushing her against the closet door, which closed with a soft click. Rory pulled back for a second. "Why am I always the one against the door?"

Jess shrugged. "Wanna switch?" he asked.

Rory could feel his breath tickle her lips as he spoke. She shook her head. "Just asking. Not complaining."

Jess nodded. "We're still not talking about this, right?"

Rory shook her head again, dizzy. Why wasn't he kissing her? She inched closer, but he sort of had her pinned. He was in control. "Nope," she answered, hoping a verbalized answer would bring his lips close to her again.

"Good. I like this part where we don't talk about this," he added.

Rory was about to start getting mad. "Then stop talking already and kiss me."

Jess laughed. "What the lady wants…"

"You. Yes. Please," she completed. He nodded, leaving the rest of the phrase unsaid, but giving a good enough answer by nibbling on her lower lip. Rory closed her eyes and gave into his kiss, his tongue exploring her mouth, his hands running down the side of her arms, resting on her hips.

She needed him closer. Waaaay closer. Maybe it was telepathy, or maybe that he wanted the same thing, but his hands dipped lower. Pulling her closer, he kept his hands on the curve of her ass. She gasped, causing him to stop for a second.

"You ok?"

"Never better," she murmured, her eyes still closed. He chuckled. "What?" she asked.

"If you could see yourself now."

"Less talking, more kissing. Your break's almost over," Rory ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," Jess replied, pulling her close again.

- - - - - - -

If it didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what was going to happen upstairs, it didn't take a five-year-old to figure out what had happened after the fact.

Yes, a small barrette half-falling out of Rory's hair was a sign. So was Jess's crumpled shirt.

But the kicker was, of course, the bit of hot-pink paint stuck to Jess's shirt hem.

Luke laughed inwardly. Kids.

- - - - - - - -

Jess was having a hard time keeping his cool in the diner right this very minute. First of all, she kept giving him these… looks. And then she would blush… It was becoming very hard for him not to blush as well. Lunch would be torture. He placed a basket of fries in front of her and went back around the counter to get the sodas.

"Hey, kid," Luke said.

Both Annie and Jess looked up. "Yeah?"

Luke shook his head. "Great. Clones."

Annie looked at Jess, then shrugged and went back to her colors.

Jess approached Luke. "Yeah?"

"You two taking Annie out this afternoon?" Luke asked.

Jess shrugged. "That's the plan."

"You sure you two don't need some alone time?" Luke pointed to the small pink stain on Jess's shirt.

Jess groaned. "Not my finest hour."

"So?"

"Are you kidding? The kid's a buffer. If she's not here we're probably going to kill each other," Jess explained. "Kid means stuff stays PG, PG means the town doesn't take me outside the church and set me on fire. Not that it wouldn't be worth it."

"Yeah, ok. Just, if you do need me to take her for a few hours or a day or whatever… well…" Luke offered.

"She grows on you, doesn't she?" Jess said, motioning towards Annie.

Luke nodded. "She looks just like Liz did when we were kids."

"I have to go back," Jess said, motioning towards Rory. Luke waved him off.

- - - - - -

Jess placed two sodas on the table, and a glass of orange juice in front of what would be Annie's chair, finishing the table setting.

"Ketchup," Rory said, smiling. Jess produced a bottle.

"Kid," Rory added.

Jess walked over to the counter, picked Annie up from the waist, crayons and all, and deposited her on the chair next to Rory. Annie complained while in the air, but upon sitting at the table, grinned at Rory.

"Hi, Rory," she said, reaching for a fry.

Jess brought a plate with chicken nuggets and vegetables and placed it in front of Annie. "You. Eat."

"Can I have fries too, Jess?" Annie asked, looking at her brother.

Jess took off his apron and sat down opposite Annie, at Rory's other side.

"Please?" Annie added.

Jess picked up a handful of fries and deposited them on Annie's plate. "Just these. Make them last those carrots."

Annie stuck her tongue out at Jess. "I don't mind carrots. It's Brussels Sprouts I hate."

"I don't like those either," Rory volunteered.

"Make my work harder, please," Jess joked, taking a bite off his sandwich.

Annie ignored him. "Brusselsprouts taste like garbage smells."

"Already she has a poet's taste for similes," Rory critiqued, pointing a fry at Jess.

"It's all that Dr. Seuss," Jess pointed out.

"Too much reading," Rory added.

Annie, finishing a sip of her orange juice, looked at both of them and said, "No such animal." She then proceeded to eat her carrots.

- - - - - - -

Jess walked behind Annie and Rory all the way to the pet store. He felt… worried. He couldn't quite place why yet, but he could sense his own worry like he'd learned to sense danger in a city where all the cab drivers had brand-new licenses. It had something to do with the way Annie skipped along holding Rory's hand. It had something to do with Rory's new not-talking policy.

This new Rory scared him, in a good way. She also scared him in a bad way.

As Annie and Rory compared the virtues of different brands of fish food, he held back and watched them. Rory seemed guarded, treading lightly around Annie, treating her as if she would break. She was trying to cross a distance that Jess hadn't noticed was there. And Annie was doing what she did best… closing the gap between her and Rory, squeezing Rory's hand, excited.

As they walked back to the diner, fish feed in hand, Jess tried to walk right beside Rory. "She won't bite you," he whispered close to her.

Rory shrugged. "I know. I just… "

"You don't have to do any of this. She's my responsibility. I have to handle it," he offered, keeping his voice low so Annie wouldn't hear. "You don't, Ror. You've helped out more than enough."

"It's a bit overwhelming," Rory admitted. "All of it. You. Again. And the fact that you now come with a… gift with purchase." They looked into each other's eyes.

They were at the door of the diner, and Annie looked up at Jess and Rory, aware that they were having some deep discussion. But she had more pressing needs. "Can I go feed the twins?" she asked.

Jess looked away from Rory toward Annie and nodded. "Remember, just a little, like Kirk told you at the pet store."

Annie nodded and bolted off. Jess could see Luke watching him through the windows of the diner.

Jess looked back at Rory, but she was looking at the floor. "I'll understand completely if you turn back around now and walk away," he said. "It's the smart thing, the logical thing. Because if you stay, you don't know what you're getting into. Hell, I don't even know what I've gotten myself into." He took a deep breath. "She'll start loving you," he said, softly. He left out that he would start to love her, again, as well.

Rory looked up at Jess, firmly. "How do we do this?" she asked.

"You say goodbye, and then you turn around," he whispered, his eyes steady on hers, his voice broken. He wanted her to admire his resolve. He wanted to have a resolve. He was scared shitless.

"Leaving is too easy, we've done that before," Rory said, shaking her head. "How do we do _this_?" she asked, pointing at Jess's chest, then at her own.

Jess smiled a little, relieved. Did she really want to stay? Did she know what it meant?

She was choosing him. No one ever chose him.

Only her.

"I hate to be the girl here, but I guess what we do is we start talking," Jess said.

Rory winced.

"Hey, I don't like it either. But if we're going to do _this_…" he said, pointing at her and then at himself. "We're going to have to talk about it."

"I don't know if I'm ready yet," she replied, turning her back to the window of the diner. Luckily the diner was half empty. Luckily there were few staring.

"Then… just… ok. I'll tell you something and you'll tell me something. Something you _can_ tell me now, something you've told no one else."

Rory looked at him with uncertainty. She ran one of her hands up her other arm, stopping at the elbow. Suddenly the wind seemed insane.

"I'll go first if you want. I'll tell you something I've told nobody else," he volunteered.

She nodded tentatively. "Ok."

Jess looked around the town square. He felt naked, talking here, but he'd already brought it up. Asking her to go elsewhere would be copping out. And if he didn't start now, he would never say these things. Ever.

Jess took a deep breath. "After California, after New York, after I came to see you that last time… I went south. I needed to be somewhere I'd never been before. So I…" Jess paused. "I stopped in this ridiculous Mississippi town, I don't remember the name of it. And I went into this bar, and there was this girl who… I must have been really drunk, because I thought she looked just like you. I yelled at her. Told her everything I should've told you and everything I had ever wanted to tell you, but very aggressively. Like I was trying to hit her with my words. I think I told her I loved her. And that's when her husband beat the crap out of me."

Rory felt tears stinging her eyes. She tried to steady her voice as she said, "Go on."

Jess kept his eyes on the gazebo, the place where they'd once been full of dreams and innocent. Would telling her restore them, or would it drive her further away? He pressed on.

"I woke up with a busted up lip and a swollen eye, and I threw up on the front tire of my car. But as I drove out of town that morning, a woman walked out onto the dirt road and stopped me. I recognized her as the woman I'd yelled my love at the night before. She looked nothing like you, except maybe the hair… not even that. She was older, too. Maybe thirty. She asked me to roll down the window. And then she said, in her perfectly Mississippi accent, she said, 'It ain't love until it busts your lip, kid. Now go home and tell _her_.' I drove out of there so fast it was a miracle I didn't kill myself. But I wasn't smart enough or brave enough or maybe stupid enough to do what she said."

Rory didn't even look around before reaching out for his hand. She touched her fingertips to his wrist and rubbed his pulse with her thumb. "Why?" she asked.

Jess shook his head. "I just wanted you to know. You have something of me now, that no one else does."

"Is it that you trust me now?"

"You're the only one I ever trusted."

Rory nodded. "Thank you."

Jess shrugged. He looked into her eyes, trying to search if she was ready to play along to his game of show and tell. He couldn't read her. He sighed. Maybe she needed more time.

"Come on, I really do need help with those forms," he said, biting down.

Rory opened her mouth, but thought better of it, and closed it again, nodding.

- - - - - - - -

Annie had decided she wanted to do inventory with Luke instead of going upstairs with Rory and Jess, and that was fine by Jess. No need to put the kid through the kind of torture that the awkwardness between them entailed.

Jess entered the apartment silently followed by Rory. He cleared the table and got out the forms while Rory left her bag on the couch. This was it. She was going to leave and he would be stuck without the possibility of running away, waving a couple of school forms into the wind. She would run and he would have to watch her through the diner window, as he had when they were younger and she was still with Dean.

But then he heard her voice. It started out meek, quiet, almost as if she was talking to herself. Her gaze stayed on her knees.

"Logan and I had this huge fight the night before I graduated Yale. We'd been engaged for… two weeks… and he wanted me to set a wedding date. I hadn't told him about a job offer I had, following a presidential candidate on the campaign trail. And I hadn't turned the offer down either," Rory started, nervously sitting down on the couch and looking at her shoes. Jess took a step out of the kitchen, then another, leaving the papers on the table. "So all this crap between us started to come out, how he'd been cheating on me, how he'd been pressuring me to let go of my career to follow his, how he hated my mom, just a load of shit raining down on us. And in the middle of the fight, I call him your name."

Jess stood there, holding onto a chair. It was as if she'd punched him in the stomach.

Rory shook her head. "It just slipped out. I told him, 'I don't like you, Jess, and I can't change you'. I tried to cover it up, take it back. But he noticed, and then the fight took on this horrid new dimension with him throwing my clothes out of the house."

"I…" Jess started, approaching her, but Rory's hand flew up to stop him.

"I have to finish this," she said, a tear running down her cheek. She wiped it away. It wasn't a time to cry. "So there we are, screaming at each other all our past sins and I realize then that I don't love him enough to forgive them of him. That I want him to be different, to be someone else. And that the one thing I did learn from you was that I couldn't change people. They have to go the road alone. All the way to Mississippi, I guess…" She paused. Laughed even. "When I was with you I wanted to save you. But what I learned was that sometimes I had to save myself."

Rory smiled up at Jess through her tear-filled eyes. "Back then, all we did to each other was hurt and teach and learn, you know?" she said, almost a whisper.

Jess nodded. He walked the few steps left to her, and took her hands in his, asking her silently to stand up.

"Maybe… Maybe now we've learned enough not to hurt each other," Rory suggested. "Maybe we both changed just enough."

Jess nodded. "I hope so," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"Now you have something of mine," she added, whispering at his shirt collar. "The other stuff… Can it wait? I still don't want to talk about it," Rory said, settling into his arms.

Jess smiled into her hair. "We start small, little grasshopper."

TBC…

- - - - - - - -

**Author's note:** Oops, I miscalculated. I'm gonna earn my rating in the next chapter. Pinky swear. Cross my heart and hope for… well, you know what I mean.

So, this was a bit more angsty. I hope you don't think it was too out of character for Jess to initiate the talks. But I think it's clear where he's coming from.

Thank you for all the feedback. I'm sorry this took a little longer than I expected. I appreciate all you guys opinions, and I hope you keep coming back for more…

Oh, to tide you over until the next chapter, I wrote a little one-shot, completely unrelated to this. It's called Uncharted Territory and if I'm not mistaken the URL is 


	16. Forms and substance

**Disclaimer: **I only own the time Jess and Rory were apart and off-camera. All else is property of others, who did quite a good job with it.

THE KID

**Chapter 15 – Forms and substance**

"So when they ask about previous education in A2-5?" Jess asked, rifling through the papers in front of him.

"You just fill in the name and code of her kindergarten and pre-school, and the school will take care of getting the transcripts shipped over," Rory explained, handing him the page with the pre-school code on it. "There."

"They have transcripts at pre-school? What do those cover? How well she finger-paints?" Jess quipped, filling the blanks on the form.

"Motility, response to audiovisual stimuli, language and social skills, attention span, things like that," Rory explained.

"You're serious?" Jess asked.

"Like ten men at a power meeting on Competitive Business Practices," Rory replied, skimming the final page. "Check here, check here, x here. Done."

"Good. As of Monday, I'll be the proud guardian of an almost first grader," Jess said.

"You still have to take her to the pediatrician," Rory countered, pointing at Form 3B. "Sookie was supposed to send me the… wait, what time is it?" Rory asked, her voice rising an octave. She'd forgotten something.

"Four thirty," Jess said. "Kid'll be waking up from her nap in a few minutes."

"I forgot your surprise. I had a surprise for you, remember?" Rory asked.

"Woman, haven't you had enough for today?" Jess asked, gesturing to the papers piled up in front of them.

Rory got up. "Put those away. I'm gonna go stare at Annie real quiet, see if she wakes up quicker that way."

Jess grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Whoa, Rory, slow down. Staring intently at Annie's back will probably freak her out, scar her for life, etc."

"My mom used to do it to me and look how I turned out," Rory said.

Jess shook his head. "Don't make me say it out loud."

"So what do we do until she wakes up?" Rory asked. "We're already going to be a little late."

Jess tugged at her sleeve and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back down to her seat. "Then we'll be a little later. And I have a pretty good idea about what to do until the kid wakes up," Jess said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, and what's that?" Rory asked.

Jess dragged his chair closer to hers and pulled her into a kiss, his hand on her neck. He let her pull away a few seconds later, sensing she had some smartass comment to add. She did.

"Oh, that. Well, I guess I could do that for a little while longer…"

She leaned in to kiss him again, when a voice emerged from the bedroom saying, "Jess, I'm hungry."

"That's our cue," Jess said, rubbing Rory's wrist ever so slightly with his thumb. "Does your surprise include food?"

Rory nodded.

"Good." Then, towards the bedroom. "Dress nice, kid. We're going out."

- - - - - - - - -

Rory led the way walking faster than Jess had ever seen her walk. True, he'd seen her run pretty fast, away from him. But this was a quick walk.

"Hey, Rory, slow it down. Kid with short legs back here," Jess said, holding Annie's hand. Annie was struggling to keep up, almost running.

Rory stopped. "Right. Sorry. We're almost there now."

"Almost where?"

"The Inn."

"We could've driven," Jess suggested.

"Too late now."

"Where are we going?" Annie asked. She was indeed dressed up for going out. Purple overalls and the tutu.

"We're going to where my mom works," Rory explained. "Right there," she said, pointing to the path through the green.

"That is a really big house," Annie said, awed. "Not like a big building, but like a big house."

"It's an Inn," Jess explained. "Like a hotel but sort of more friendly."

"Not if Michel has anything to say about it," Rory added. "Come on, kid, I'll race you to the door," she said. "One…"

Annie took off running before Rory said two. "That little cheat," Rory said, grinning.

"I'm so proud of her," Jess added.

"Come on, let's catch up," Rory said, giving a couple of jumps.

Jess shook his head. "I don't run."

Rory shrugged. "Suit yourself."

And she took off.

- - - - - - - -

"You run funny," Jess pointed out, approaching the two red-faced girls on the porch steps to the Inn.

"I do not," Annie said, sticking her tongue out at Jess.

"I meant Rory, kid," Jess said, rolling his eyes.

Rory stuck out her tongue as well. "I don't either." She smiled. "I bet you run funny, that's why you don't run."

"I ran for you once. Got all wet in the sprinklers and everything," Jess reminded her. He raised an eyebrow at her. She blushed. Of course she remembered.

She remembered everything.

"So, what's the surprise?" Jess asked, helping Annie to her feet. "We demand to know."

"Tell us, Rory, pleaaaase," Annie pleaded, jumping up and down.

"I'll do you one better. I'll show you. Come on," Rory said, taking Annie's hand. She led them into the Inn, down the hall to the dining room.

They peeked their heads in and saw an amazing sight.

"Breakfast," she pronounced.

"In the afternoon," Annie added, awed at the spread of bread, jams, pancakes, muffins and scones, and the different types of cereals in their glass dispensers.

"That's what makes it such a beautiful thing. Afternoon breakfast on Mondays," Rory explained. "Sookie's afternoon breakfast on Mondays."

"Hey, someone say my name?" Sookie asked from behind them, making Jess jump.

"You startled me," Jess said, giving Sookie a small smile. They'd hardly crossed words with one another, except maybe that time she'd asked him if he ate cheese.

"Hey, you," Sookie said, straight at Rory. She hadn't really gotten to know Jess before, and knew of his reputation through Lorelai. She didn't want to be either too friendly or too mean. So she opted out. She went for the girls. "And who are you?"

Annie reached out her hand. "I'm Annie. I'm Jess's sister." She then narrowed her eyes at Sookie. "Are you one of the people he was mean to last time?"

Both Sookie's and Rory's eyes widened.

"Hey, how about some pancakes?" Jess asked, taking the heat off the two women by leading Annie into the dining room.

"Yikes," Sookie said, rubbing Rory's back. "That was…"

"Don't sweat it," Rory dismissed. She waved at Jess, and nodded when he pointed to a round table near the back. "So, how've you been? I know we talked on the phone the other day but it's been so long…" Rory said, giving Sookie a hug.

"Too long," Sookie concurred. "The kids are great, Jackson has a lovely crop of butternut squash coming up this weekend, so everything's up and summery."

"The kids must be huge now," Rory said, smiling.

"Davey's going to be handing me the condiments off the top shelf any day now," Sookie replied, showing how tall he was with her hand. "Anyway, you should go in and eat." Sookie peered into the dining room. "Such a cute kid," she added, wiping her hands in the apron. "I'll tell your mom you're here."

And then Sookie was gone before Rory could protest.

Yes, of course, Rory had known her mother would be at the Inn. But she had really not been hoping for a breakfast afternoon with her mother and Jess sharing a table.

Oh, well. It was bound to happen. Right?

- - - - - - - -

Rory was digging into her first pancake when Lorelai walked up to the table. Jess was trying to convince Annie that blueberries were not as evil as they looked. Annie clapped her hands at Lorelai's arrival.

"Hi, Loreleee," she said, mispronouncing.

"Hiyah, kids," Lorelai replied, smiling. "Offspring? I didn't know you were stopping by."

Rory shrugged. Drink of coffee. "It must have slipped my mind."

"Must have," Lorelai agreed. "Alright if I sit?" she asked, looking straight at Jess.

Jess stared back. "We'd like that, wouldn't we, Annie?"

"Yey! Lorelee's fun," Annie said. "She let me solve a huge puzzle last weekend," she added.

Lorelai took a seat between Rory and Jess. "That's right. Great puzzle building skills, this one. Enjoying your pancakes?"

"Blueberries are evil," Annie explained.

Rory and Jess exchanged a fleeting look. This felt seventeen again. Afraid of getting caught by Lorelai. Afraid of what the town would say.

"Some cartoon she saw last summer," Jess explained.

"Oh, honey, you've got it all wrong," Lorelai said, smiling at Annie. "It's cartoon blueberries that are evil. Real blueberries are angel food." Then, quickly, she turned to Jess, and asked him really quietly, "She does know about angels, right? I'm not ruining atheism here, right?"

"She knows angels and God and all that, tangentially. And it's agnosticism, by the way," Jess replied. He wondered if he had been too glib. But then he saw Annie fork one of his blueberry pancakes and he nodded to Lorelai. "Look. It worked." Then, just for good measure, he added, "Thanks."

Lorelai smiled. "Not a problem," she said.

Rory, looked at what was happening before her, and couldn't help smiling into her coffee cup.

- - - - - - - - - -

Rory decided to forgo her mother's offer for a car ride and decided instead to walk Jess and Annie to Luke's.

"Isn't it customary for the boy to walk the girl home?" Jess asked, smiling at Rory.

He couldn't help smiling. Lately, he feared his muscles would freeze in place, during one of these smiles. His for-Rory-smiles.

It was official. He was becoming a sap.

"Gender roles have evolved in the past twenty years," Rory pointed out.

"I don't think the world is ready to see me in a dress," Jess countered.

"Do you think Uncle Luke is asleep?" Annie asked, interrupting.

"No. It's still early," Jess said. "Early for him. It's almost your bedtime."

"I wanna read him something," Annie said. She grinned up at Jess. "Jess got me my books from back home, and Uncle Luke hasn't read any of them," Annie told Rory, making her case to Jess through her. "He's not a man that reads much."

"One book," Jess conceded. "If Luke isn't too tired." He nodded towards the diner. "We'll ask him."

- - - - - - - - -

Outside the diner, Rory watched the interaction between Luke, Annie and Jess. She felt comforted by the fact that they seemed like a family. Even if Jess couldn't wait to stop imposing on his uncle, they were a family.

She looked through the window because Jess had asked her to wait. She hadn't asked what for, but she'd nodded anyway.

He walked back out, quietly, the bell of the door louder than his footsteps. The diner was empty and Luke had already turned up the chairs. Luke locked up behind him and waved at him.

Jess stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. The wind was picking up, and though it was definitely not cold, his jacket was, in a way, safety.

"So, you walking me home?" Rory asked, tucking her own hands into her pockets as well.

"I want to show you something first," he said, saying little else.

Once they were off Main Street and onto Orange, Rory took her left hand out of her pocket and tucked it into Jess's left pocket, her fingers finding his hand and entwining with his fingers. Jess smiled.

- - - - - - - -

"This is it," Jess said, his head gesturing towards it.

An small, old, one story, two-bedroom cottage.

"It's a house," Rory said, plainly.

"Annie's new home, as soon as I sign the lease," Jess said. "Well, Luke and I. I'm not trustworthy enough to sign anything on my own yet."

Rory looked confused. "What… when?"

Jess shrugged. "Luke and I were looking for apartments, but apparently they're harder to find than a job Kirk hasn't had." He sighed. "So I found this. And Luke looked it over and said it was a good deal, I fix it up, I get five months rent-free."

"How much fix up?" Rory asked. The roof didn't look all that good from where she stood. And the inside was dark.

"Not as much as it seems. No termite damage, hardly any water damage" Jess said, taking a key out of his jeans pocket. "Wanna see?"

Rory nodded. Jess handed her the keys.

Rory walked up to the door and turned the key. "Light switch is on the left," he added.

Rory flipped on the light, two blinking fluorescent tubes, green light filling what Rory assumed was the living room. The stuccoed walls were painted a ghastly hospital green, and the floor needed some intense cleaning. But the windows were pretty. "It really looks better up close."

"Yeah. Don't go into the bathroom though. That area's sort of off."

Rory nodded.

"I can help you paint," she offered, rather quickly.

"Your shirt tells me you're real experienced with that," Jess said, walking a few steps towards her.

"I'll have you know that I paint all the time. It's how I put myself through night school," Rory quipped.

"Good one." Jess approached her. "Now close your eyes."

"What for?" Rory asked.

"A surprise."

"A surprise like, Oh, it's Halloween and Michael Myers is in the closet, or a surprise like, Oh, Michael Myers is back on SNL?" Rory nervously bit her lower lip.

"Eyes. Closed. Now. Mouth, too." Jess said, his right hand covering her eyes and his left guiding her by the waist to the window. It was three, maybe four steps. "Ok, now open."

"That was the longest walk ever," Rory joked. "So many twists, and turns… I'll never find this place again."

Jess stood beside her and softly shushed her. "Look over there," he said, a whisper against her ear. Rory shivered, but did as she was told.

From the rear window, through the moldy glass, the bridge, their bridge, was visible.

It took her a moment to react to the surprise. "Oh. Oh, it's perfect," she said, a smile on her lips.

Jess looked at her reflection in the dirty window and his entire resolve went out the window. No kid present, no buffer, a dark house in the middle of nowhere. He took a deep breath, caution escaping as he exhaled.

It took Rory another moment to react to Jess's breath against her neck, his arms against her midriff, fingertips skimming softly under the hem of her shirt. His lips on the column of her neck. His one hand on her face, turning her lips to his.

She froze. For a second there, she was unable to move, awash in the sensations he was causing her. One of his fingers dipped into her navel. He was pressed flush against her, but she needed to be closer.

She turned to face him, aware that this would only make the kiss deeper. She welcomed it, his soft lips, his tongue.

He in turn tried to hold back. Found himself somehow pressing her body against the wall next to the window, her legs parting to allow him to get closer. His hands quickly traveled to the curve of her ass and brought her in to him. He wasn't even sure if she was touching the floor with her feet.

Furniture would've been nice, but neither thought about it. Somehow he was slowly working her neck, dragging his mouth away from her swollen lips. His fingers played with her top button and then her blouse was just a little more open, his kisses dipping a little lower. She moaned.

She wasn't entirely certain if she'd ever heard herself moan just like that.

He smiled. He kissed his way back up to her mouth and released her for just a second, just to look in her eyes.

He could feel her need for him and he knew exactly how she felt because he was that close to losing restraint as well. "Should I keep going?" he asked, softly, nibbling on her earlobe.

"Yes," she said, stretching the s with pleasure. "Uhm. No. I don't know," she said, as he traced the length of her neck with his tongue. "I can't think."

Jess nodded. "I know exactly what you mean," he answered, kissing below her chin.

"How much further can we go and still stop?" she asked, biting her lower lip.

Jess looked into her eyes. Honesty. Her hair was messed up, her lips were red. She looked so beautiful he could hardly stand it. "Not much more."

"Because I don't think tonight…" she started, but trailed off.

"Maybe we should stop now, then?" he asked, his teeth scratching the skin of her collar just so.

She bit down on her lip just a bit. "Not yet," she whispered, breathily. "Please?"

Jess nodded. He took her lower lip between his own and began his exploration of her mouth again. His hands grazed her side, almost tickling her arms. Softly he cupped her breasts through her clothes. "Too many clothes," he whispered against her mouth. Rory nodded in agreement. He fumbled with her buttons and finally let her blouse drop to the floor.

Her bra was cotton, white. He liked this about her, that she was a sensible girl with sensible underwear.

He dragged his mouth down her neck, stopping at her collarbone, then down to her breast. Through the fabric, he touched her breast, softly. He unhooked her bra and let it too fall off her shoulders.

The shock of nakedness hit Rory but dissipated in the aftermath of a second, more urgent matter. His. Mouth. On. Her. Nipple.

Sucking.

Teasing.

His tongue.

"Oh, Jess," she whispered, her head lolling back, just so. She held on to him, tugging a bit at his hair.

He kissed his way back to her lips one more time, and this time he stayed there, his body pressing against her, her bare back pressing against the cool cement walls.

She parted her legs to allow him access, to be closer, and she could feel him, hard, so close to her. Too many clothes.

He paused for breath. "We. Stop. Now," he said, pointedly, looking at Rory's eyes, pressing his forehead against hers. "Or we don't stop. Your call."

"Tough. Call." Rory interrupted each word with a hard kiss.

He hooked his thumbs on her belt loops. "You're killing me here, Gilmore, and I'm still completely dressed. I'm all for finishing what I start, but maybe this floor isn't the best place."

"I don't think I've ever wanted someone so much. Ever," she said, honestly.

"Same here."

Rory sighed, her voice trembling. Her entire being trembling. "Let's stop."

Jess nodded.

"Just… "

"Yeah?"

"Can we stay close like this? For a little while?" she asked, her arms snaking around his waist. "Taking deep breaths?" she added.

Jess nodded, smiling a little at the reaction he'd caused on her. Just a little. He couldn't get too cocky. She'd almost done him in. "What the lady wants…"

She sighed into his shirt, with closed eyes. "Soon. Soon."

- - - - - - - - -

It was hard to believe that after such a long absence, Jess was now going to be living but a few blocks away from Rory. Rory sensed the unspoken danger in this arrangement as she walked slowly, holding his hand, in the general direction of her mother's house.

The quiet between them spoke of how far they had gone. "It's a good thing I cut my hair," Rory said, almost a thought out loud.

"Why's that?" Jess asked, intrigued.

"All that pushing me up against walls and doors would have made for some really bad hair days," she answered, blushing just a bit as she said it.

Jess felt his ears get just a bit warmer. "Like that's my fault. You naturally gravitate toward vertical surfaces. Me, I'm all for horizontal."

Rory's mouth opened, and closed quickly. She tried not to smile. "That so?"

"Guess you'll have to wait to find out for sure," Jess said.

Rory nodded, then gave Jess a slight shove with her hips. Some things about feeling like a teenager weren't so bad. Jess shoved back.

Rory laughed. Jess stopped to kiss her softly and backed away quickly. No need to play with fire three blocks from her house.

"You know, I googled you once," she said, out of the blue, her eyes still closed from the kiss.

"I think I would've noticed if you had," Jess quipped.

"Ha-ha. Funny. Really funny," Rory said.

Jess shrugged. "Ok, so you Googled me."

"Did you know there are a lot of girls named Jess Mariano?" Rory asked.

"I suspected as much."

"But I found a mention of you on the third page of hits."

Jess started fidgeting with his jacket hem. "Police record?" he asked, only half-joking.

"Short story," Rory countered.

Silence. Then, "Oh." He paused. "So that's why you didn't seem all that surprised when I told you I was writing."

Rory shook her head. "I lied then, didn't tell you," she said, calling a horse a horse.

"Why?" he asked. He stopped walking.

"I dropped out of Yale for about a year… did Luke ever tell you that?" Rory started.

Jess shook his head no. "Why?"

Rory closed her eyes for a second, relishing the charged air around her. "Why isn't that important. Basically someone whose opinion really mattered made me feel like I had made the wrong career choice. Then I got myself arrested. It's a long story."

"I have time," Jess said.

"And I will tell you more about it, " Rory said. "But for now let's just leave it at that. So when my mom found out I was dropping out she went nuts, we had a fight, and I felt like she'd basically told me to get out of her house, so I started living with my grandparents."

"You're kind of throwing me for a whirl," Jess said.

"I know. Not me, right? But then again, it was me." Rory smiled at Jess, squeezed his hand. "Anyway, what was intended as my time to think about my future, became, quickly, a time to party. I sort of got… lost along the way. And one night I had this huge fight with my grandmother, and I went over to Logan's. I couldn't sleep, went downstairs to check my emails. And, just like that, before I knew it, I was typing your name in the search box."

"And you found it."

"And I found it."

"I don't think I wanted you to read that."

"But you did write it for me."

"I did."

Rory smiled. "I had no idea what you'd meant by Mississippi then."

"Now you know."

"Now I know."

Jess scratched the back of his neck. "Why preface telling me you found my story with all this stuff about you dropping out of Yale and all that?" He paused to explain himself better. "Not that I don't want you to tell me, I do. But it seems a convoluted way to get to where you're going."

"But I am going somewhere. It's the Gilmore way. Give me a little leeway." She pulled at his hand so they would keep walking, they'd been standing outside Andrew's house for too long. "So I printed out your story that night, someone had scanned it from the magazine. Cult following much?"

"One person does not a cult make."

Rory rolled her eyes at his humility. "Anyway, I read it, over and over. Four or five times, maybe more."

"And then…"

"I tore it up in tiny pieces."

"Oh." Jess didn't know whether to be disappointed and relieved.

"I memorized it, Jess. I can still repeat parts of it: _Down by the riverbank, I let go of her. Mosquitoes swarm around me as, one by one, I tear the pages of her favorite book and feed them to the river. She greedily swallows them. I try not to think about how she almost doesn't understand what mosquitoes mean. She is not here. Halfway through, the Mississippi decides it is satisfied; the wind tosses the pages back at me. It places the part that reads The End back in my hands._"

"You memorized it."

"I would close my eyes and imagine you, a Steinbeck without a Charlie, driving down dirt roads, you'd wash dishes in obscure diners. I could picture you, living off coin tricks and beginners' magic on street corners, and going back to your car and writing it all down. And I would see you in my mind, finally free. It just fit so perfectly, you, writing, and it took me a second to realize that I should be seeing myself like that, too. It had been so long since I had something that fit me." Jess surrounded Rory's shoulder with his arm, pulling her close as they walked. "The next week I went back to Yale. Back to me." She smiled up at him, relieved. "Now you know two things that are mine, that no one else knows."

Jess grinned. "You just like winning."

"I wasn't aware we were competing," Rory replied.

"With you? Always a race." Jess kissed the top of her head.

Rory rested her head on Jess's shoulder as they walked along. "People always assumed Logan had talked me back into school, or my Mom, but the truth is that you sort of talked me into it. Unknowingly…"

Jess shook his head. "You went back because you found your way, Ror. You would have done it sooner or later, without me or my story or Google," he said. They were close to her house, in front of Babette's lawn, way too close to those damn garden gnomes. "You've always been the strongest one. You went beyond your comfort zone to be with me when we were teenagers. And when you said no that time to my crazed runaway plan, all those years ago, you knew something I didn't. That we weren't right for each other back then. You've always been the strong one."

Rory shrugged. "I don't feel so strong anymore. And I waited, years I went without telling you this, without looking for you. I don't know if I'll ever be able to talk about what I've seen, what I've heard. I don't know if I'll be that strong ever again."

Jess stroked her arm. "Hey. Some things just need… time, you know?"

"We never got enough time," Rory whispered, almost as an afterthought.

Jess stopped in front of her porch. He turned her, his hands on her shoulders. "I don't like this town, Rory. I feel like it chews my arm off, locks me up. But there's two or three things this town has that make it bearable, make it the closest I ever had to a home."

"I wasn't enough to make up for all the arm chewing before."

Jess shook his head. "Before sucked."

"It had its good parts."

"I sucked. Now maybe not so much."

"Still doesn't change the town," Rory countered.

"The arm chewing, I'm dealing with it," Jess said, his eyes looking straight into hers.

Rory nodded, understanding. He would stay.

Jess pressed his forehead against hers. "Sooner or later, when you are ready, it'll be your turn to go, back to work, to do what you do. And it's not something I want to think about, this arm-chewing town without you. But I'll learn to deal with that, too."

"I don't want to think that far ahead," Rory said, closing her eyes and breathing in how close he was. She tugged at his sleeves.

"Until then, time is all we have. Maybe I'll catch a break and the kid and I will move somewhere more anonymous in a few years. But for now, this is right. I'm around for the duration, Gilmore. Hell, longer probably, unless the kid turns into Doogie Houser and decides to go for an MD at Columbia next year." Jess was getting dizzy with her proximity. How did she do that? She tugged at his sleeves again and he stepped closer. She opened her eyes and laughed.

"You know, for someone who claims to watch very little television, your pop culture trivia has definitely grown since we saw each other last."

That was when he decided it was time to make her quiet by kissing her goodnight.

- - - - - -

From inside the house, Rory watched Jess's back until it disappeared from sight.

It was only when she turned around that she noticed Lorelai was sitting in the living room sofa, looking at her. She gave a small jump back, startled.

"Mom, you scared me," Rory said, dropping her purse on the couch beside her.

Lorelai sighed. "That kid," she said, letting it hang in the air.

"Mom…" Rory warned.

"I know, I know. I just… you're doing so well, honey, I'd hate it if you got derailed," Lorelai explained, standing up and walking around the room.

Rory took a shivery deep breath, sat down. "I'm not doing so well, mom. My work is derailed. I'm not in my work. It has nothing to do with Jess."

"But his being here…" Lorelai started.

Rory looked up into her mother's eyes. "Is the best thing that's happened to me in a long time."

"Really?" Lorelai asked. She was scared for her daughter, scared of these truths that she seemed to be saying for the first time.

Rory nodded. "He calls my bluffs. He knows, Mom. How can he know?"

"You've always shown everything, sweets."

Rory shook her head. "Not anymore."

Lorelai felt pain coursing through her. She realized that she did not know her daughter as she had before. Yes, she could see the outside and try to read it, but it had never occurred to her that Rory had learned how to hide.

She had.

"I guess I'll just have to get used to him again," Lorelai sighed. "I promise, no hostility. No questions about religious or political affiliation. No holy water or onions or crosses."

"Thank you," Rory said, resting her head on the sofa cushions.

Lorelai smiled and patted her daughter's shoulder. "Just try to keep all those passionate make-out marathons away from Annie. Children shouldn't be subjected to that kind of thing."

Rory felt a blush creeping up her cheeks. "Mother!"

"What? Just sage parental advice," Lorelai said, starting up the stairs.

"How did you know?" Rory asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Ah, there are just some things mothers always know," Lorelai replied. Then, looking down at her daughter from the banister, she added, "That, and you buttoned up your blouse wrong."

Rory looked down and with a blush noticed she had a buttonhole left over near her neck and a button left over near the bottom of the shirt.

So much for dignified lady.

Hello, Rory Gilmore.

- - - - - - -

**author's note:**

hey! So thanls for all the great feedback… and welcome to everyone who's new to this story. I love that this fandom is so active! Anyway, I have some semi-bad news: I was doing dishes, glass slipped, shattered, sliced my left arm a bit (4 stitches – my first) just where my arm rests on keyboard. I'm a two-handed typer so this note is taking double time… might not get much written next week and am only a couple of chapters ahead of posting time. Stitches are out in seven days, so that's a plus. Just, forgive if updates take a bit longer these few weeks. So I post this now, to tide you over.

Also, I tried to post link to my oneshot, failed miserably. It's on my author page, if you can, check it out and tell me what you thought.

I'm toying with the idea of a short story written by Jess, maybe as a standalone fic, maybe as part of this. Would the style of the excerpt in this chapter work? How do YOU think Jess would write? Let me know!


	17. Rainday

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Well, Annie sort of is. But not exactly…

**CHAPTER 16 - Rainday**

Rory watched the troubled sky. It was going to rain. She could tell.

She'd lived in Stars Hollow her entire life and the one thing she remembered clearly was its weather. It didn't rain often, but when it did, it could rain for a full day or two.

The clouds, graying, told her clearly that today was going to be one of those days.

"Rainday," she whispered, pointing up at the cloud.

Jess looked at the sunny sky above, then he looked at Rory sideways, like she was crazy. "You're crazy," he added, redundantly.

It had been a week since the auspicious form-filling day, and Luke had decided to take Annie to the Civil War museum. "He's odd like that, and she's game," Jess had explained when he called Rory. He'd been working all week and weekend, and she had decided to give him some space. Or maybe give herself some space. She'd only gone to Luke's for breakfast twice.

"I missed you," she said, and she had. She'd missed him while having ice cream. She'd missed him while having dinner at her grandparents. She'd missed him when she did the laundry and washed the blouse he'd so deftly unbuttoned and so clumsily re-buttoned for her.

"You're still crazy," he added, his arm snaking around her waist as they walked. Joined at the hip. "So what do you want to do?" he asked, leading her down the street away from Luke's. People would talk. They would not care.

"Bookstore," Rory said, with complete certainty.

Jess raised an eyebrow. "If you buy a book and it rains, you'll have a wet book."

"I'll hang it out to dry," she countered.

"Ink will run," Jess argued.

"Live a little," Rory replied. "Come on…"

Jess allowed himself to get dragged along. And he didn't mind the town stares.

- - - - - - -

"_City_," Rory said.

Jess shrugged. "Haven't read it."

"Have you read _any_ Alessandro Baricco?" Rory asked.

"Nope?" Jess volunteered. Not quite sure.

"You're getting this one."

"Rory…"

"I'm getting it for you."

"Rory…"

"Too late, I have it, I'm heading to the cash register, stop me if you can…"

"Ok, ok. Just… hold on. You get me one, I get you one."

"No bull runs!" Rory called out as Jess headed to one of the back stacks. She turned to the register only to find Kirk manning the counter. "Kirk, what are you doing here? Where's Andrew?"

Kirk looked at Rory with slight suspicion. "Why? Who's asking?"

"I am, Kirk."

"Yeah, but are you asking as Rory Gilmore, member of the Associated Press or as Rory Gilmore, daughter of Lorelai Gilmore?" Kirk asked.

"Which one gets me an answer?" Rory countered.

"Sneaky." Kirk said. "You'll weasel it out of me anyway, reporters always do. Andrew's cashing in his 401K and heading out to Florida."

Rory opened her mouth in surprise. "He never seemed to me like the Florida type." A heartbeat. "What's gonna happen to the bookstore?"

Kirk, stone-faced, looked Rory straight in the eye. "Are you asking as a potential -"

"Kirk, just answer the question," Rory said, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Owner's looking to sell."

"Who's the owner?"

"I am. Bought it from Andrew a couple of years back."

Rory's mouth gaped open. Then closed.

"You're selling the town bookstore? Any buyers?"

"Well, Taylor seems interested. In the locale, more than the bookstore per-se. He'd like to expand Doose's."

Rory gripped the book. Hard. "He. Will. Not." she said.

"Well, unless someone outbids him…"

Rory didn't measure her words. Just blurted them out. "How much is it? For the whole place, books and all."

"Well…"

"Quick, Kirk," Rory said. Kirk took a small notepad, tore off a piece of paper, wrote down an amount and slipped it to Rory.

Jess walked back to the counter and caught the strange interaction. Rory looked at the piece of paper and crossed out something, wrote something, handed it back to Kirk. "Remember, books are on the way out. What with the new Kindle and all."

"Yes, but this includes providers' contacts, contacts to all local publishing houses," Kirk said, writing something else on the paper.

Rory took the paper, shook her head, crossed out what Kirk had written and scribbled furiously. "Sure, but you don't have any contacts with the Stars Hollow school system. Major loss there." She handed the paper to Kirk. "Final offer."

Kirk nodded somberly. "I'll have the paperwork ready tomorrow, we'll sign when your check clears," he said, extending his hand.

"Oh, it'll clear," Rory said, narrowing her eyes at Kirk. She shook his outreached hand. Kirk shuddered.

Jess placed the book on the counter. "What just happened there?"

Rory closed her eyes for a moment, expecting reality to hit her soon. "I think I just bought the bookstore."

Jess looked at Rory, then at Kirk, then back at Rory. "I guess this is yours, then," he said, handing Rory a copy of _The Catcher in the Rye_. "I thought you'd like your own. I knew the one you had was from the library."

"Thank you…" she said. Then, smiling, "You owe me 7,99."

"You own the bookstore," Jess said, very slowly.

"Yep. As soon as the check clears. Wait. As soon as I actually write the check. I gotta get my checkbook." She was all ready to run out of the bookstore.

Jess shook his head, laughing. "Hey. Easy. It'll still be here tomorrow, won't it Kirk?"

"We shook on it," Kirk said, as if that explained everything.

Rory nodded. "I own the bookstore."

"You sure this is a good idea?" Jess asked.

"I have no freaking clue," Rory said, sincerely.

Jess nodded. "How does that feel?"

"Like freedom," Rory said, smiling. Jess couldn't help smiling as well.

Rory took both books in one hand. Jess took her hand to lead her out but she held him back. "Hey, wait. Here," she said, reaching behind the counter and grabbing a piece of paper. She handed it to him.

"An application?" Jess asked.

"Well, I do think it's necessary to screen the workforce."

"You want me to work here."

Rory shrugged. "Why not?"

"Am I getting fired?" Kirk asked.

Rory stared him down. "Kirk, you've got fifteen other jobs. Hell, yeah, you're getting fired!" Then, to Jess, "So what do you say?"

Jess shook his head. "I'll fill it out. Maybe I'll get lucky, since I know the owner and all."

"Hmm, I like the turn of phrase," Rory said, raising an eyebrow.

"Mind-in-the-gutter Gilmore" Jess joked, kissing her temple.

Rory led him by the hand towards the street. "I own the bookstore."

Outside, big drops of rain splattered on the sidewalk and street.

Over the rainstorm, they ignored Kirk as he yelled that they still needed to pay for the books they had in their hands.

- - - - - - - -

No matter how hard they ran, it still took 10 minutes to get to her house.

So the books and their clothes were soaked by the time they got there. Why they had not gone to Luke's, so much closer to the bookstore, was a question of instinct and logic.

The diner would be full. People would watch them. They would talk about the bookstore, about him, about how she held his hand.

The house would be empty.

On the porch, they shivered for a moment watching the rain they had just left behind. Jess kicked off his shoes, then his wet socks. Rory looked at his feet as he did, musing for a moment at the funny fact that crossed her mind.

"I've never seen you barefoot before," she said. She realized the childish nature of her statement. He'd never seen her half naked until a week ago, yet he'd said little about it. She got nervous over his bare feet.

She took off her wet sandals as well and took the books out from under her soaked shirt, where she'd been trying to protect them.

"First order of business is making nice plastic bags for the bookstore," she said, taking them out of the damp paper bag and placing each book on top of the porch swing.

"What happened to the 'live a little' philosophy?" Jess asked, shaking the water from his hair.

"I'm a business owner now," Rory said, imitating Jess's move to rid her hair of water. "Let's go inside and get out of these wet…" her voice trailed off. She shook her head. "I'll find you something dry to wear." She opened the door.

Jess held it open for her. "After you."

"You're scaring me," Rory said, walking in.

- - - - - - - - -

He didn't remember the My Little Ponies from the last time he'd been in her room.

"They're Gigi's," Rory explained. They were still barefoot. Still wearing very wet clothes.

"Do you want me to wait outside until you change?" Jess asked.

Rory shook her head. Why had she led him into her room? They were so charged with awkwardness. Sure, they could talk the talk… but could they take it further? Rory doubted. "I think there's some of my dad's old clothes that could fit you," she said, her hand motioning for him to wait for her.

Jess looked around the room. It bore little sign of the Rory he'd known and of the Rory he was starting to know again. Her things were still in a duffel bag, books, what looked like laundered clothes. On the wall, the Yale pennant, a couple of more recent photos. On her nightstand, the Gazette. Two copies of the last issue. He groaned as he pulled up his t-shirt. He was going to catch a cold if he kept his shirt on.

He was searching around for a place to place the wet shirt when she came into the room.

And stared.

He tried to think back on it but couldn't remember her ever seen him without his shirt.

Sure, on their more risqué make-out sessions, she'd touched his belly, his back, under his shirt. But this… seeing… was new.

She left the dry clothes on top of the bed, said nothing. Took two steps toward him. Said nothing. Took his t-shirt from him, dropped it on the floor. Said nothing. Closed the door, walked up to him again. Said nothing.

He grabbed the hem of her t-shirt, looked into her eyes. She nodded. He pulled her sensible green t-shirt over her head. Dropped it on the floor. Said nothing.

His fingers fiddled with the clasps of her bra, unsuccessfully. Like he was a first timer.

"This one's complicated," Rory said, quietly, smiling as she reached behind her back and undid the wet garment. Jess slid it off her shoulders, onto the floor. He took a moment to look, just as she had. She instinctively tried to cover herself with her arms, but he held her shoulders in place, his hands running down her upper arms.

"You're cold," he said, finding no other words. She nodded. He pulled her closer, his arms wrapping around her back. Their hair, short as it was, dripped onto the floor. Their pants dripped on the floor. "We should get out of these clothes," he said, trying to make it sound as innocent as he could. Of course it was a miserable failure. He was so close to her, her breasts brushing up against his chest, her back's smoothness turning to goose bumps as he ran his fingers down her spine. She shivered, and it wasn't from the cold.

She looked up at him, studied his face. Her eyes drew him in, and then his lips were on hers, unavoidable as it had always been. Her fingers fumbled clumsily with his jeans. His pants, heavy with water, made it harder to undo the buttons. His hands moved to her hips, and he pulled her closer by the belt loops. His breath hitched for a second when Rory finally undid the first button, and he shivered right along with her as she undid the following buttons. Then she pushed his pants past his hips, taking his boxers right along with them.

Here he was, in Stars Hollow, standing stark naked in front of Rory Gilmore, in her childhood bedroom peopled by little plastic ponies.

And Rory was looking at him, naked, semi hard, slowly studying everything about him.

He was scared.

She noticed. "I didn't mean to stare."

"You can look all you want," he said, and meant it, sincerely.

Tentatively her hand came to rest on his hip. "Kiss me?" she asked. He agreed, pulling her close once again, one finger hooked on her belt loop, one hand holding her head closer.

"Can I?" he asked, tugging at the button of her jeans. She nodded, once. It was all the encouragement he needed.

Rory allowed herself to lose herself. She hardly ever let go of her self-restraint, but she was trying. When his fingers traced the top off her jeans, she instinctively stiffened, nervous, but relaxed into his touch as his fingers pressed her hips.

Her eyes closed, it was easier to touch him. She allowed her hands to fall from his hips to the curve of his ass, the smooth skin of his back. Her fingers traced the dark line of hair leading to... he sucked in his breath as she traced it with her smooth fingertips. "Rory," he warned. But she ignored him. She wanted to touch him, to be close. He kissed her neck, trying to distract her. She ran her fingers over his hips and then back down to his length. Slowly. Tortuously so.

He decided he needed to take some control of the situation. He pushed her wet jeans past her hips, and they fell to the floor with a plop. She laughed into his mouth. He hooked two fingers onto the elastic of her panties, and slowly dragged the moistened fabric down her hips, past her thighs, until it alone slid down her legs and landed at her feet.

"Well, at least now we won't catch a cold," she whispered, her mouth so close to his he could feel the puffs of her breath on his skin. Her hand still lingered dangerously close to him, right on his hip.

"My turn to look," he said, trying to smile, to seem like he was completely cool with all this.

It had taken them ten years to get here. She wasn't as shy as she had once been, and her eyes met his at his request. He took a step back and smiled. His imagination hadn't done her justice.

"This isn't the way this is usually done," Rory said, trying to seem unfazed by his approving eyes. She pulled a small barrette out of her hair, if only to have something to do.

He stepped closer to her again, took the barrette from her hand, and left it on the nearest piece of furniture. He took hold of her wrists, so as to prevent her from taking control of the situation. "So there's a protocol?" Jess asked, his mouth dipping close to her ear. His breath on her neck made her mouth dry.

"Yes. There's fumbling, and bed, and then the clothes flying off," she said, his kisses distracting her.

"We fumbled. The bed's right there," he replied. "And the clothes were too wet to fly, but they are off." He dragged his mouth to her chin, giving her small kisses along the jawline. Her wrists were still held by his hands, and her body kept trying to get closer to him. His lips kept avoiding hers, and she bit down her lower lip in distress. Jess noticed her aching to be closer. "Anyway, when have we ever gone for tradition?" he asked, finally capturing her mouth with his.

He let go of her wrists and it was their undoing. Her hands free, she threw herself into the kiss, her arms pulling him closer, impossibly closer, flush to her body. He could feel his chest, warm against her breasts, she could feel him, hard against her belly.

Jess tried to keep up but she was brushfire and she was definitely in control of him, even though she seemed to have lost grasp of any other sort of control. She was pulling, pushing, kissing, biting, touching, everywhere. He tried to hold on but she was a force of nature. He pulled away from her lips for a second. "Slow down," he whispered.

"Why?" she asked, shaking her head. "I need you," she added.

He felt his resolve crashing at his feet, because this, too, was what he was feeling. Need.

"I'm not going anywhere," he replied. He leaned in and kissed her softly, his hand on her hip. He deepened the kiss, his tongue caressing hers. The fire in her belly knotted and twisted, but his hands on her hip kept her just close enough. He was taking his time. He was leading her to bed, slowly, one step at a time.

She felt herself again trying to be closer to him, but it wasn't close enough. "Closer," she said, almost into his mouth. He nodded, sitting her on the bed. She laid her head on the pillow and invited him onto the bed with her, her hand pulling at his.

His lips brushed hers before he decided it was time to explore. His lips down her neck, his teeth dragging just so on her shoulder. His mouth, warm, on her breast. His fingers on her hips.

And she moved beneath him, pleaded, cursed, not with words, just her body. Her body asking for more, or for less, her fingers pulling at his hair just so, her mouth a silent O. His teeth dragging along her hipbone, his tongue in her navel, his mouth… god, his mouth.

Rory moaned.

A kiss on her knee, the parting of thighs, his mouth traveling north again as his fingers found their way to where she needed him the most. She moved ever so slightly against his hand and he pressed his fingers ever so slightly against her, so she would once again say his name just like that, just like… "Jess…" she whispered, as he took her nipple in his mouth, as he kissed the spot right between her ear and her jaw, as his fingers felt her hot and liquid against him, melting into him, her mouth and her hands willing him closer. She was ready, her mouth on his told him so, and no further permission was needed. He needed to be inside her.

"Rory?" he asked.

"Yeah?" she asked, a word hissed out.

"Do you have a…?" he asked, trailing off.

"You don't?" she asked, coming out of the haze. His fingers stopped moving.

He took a deep breath and smiled. "Would I be asking if I did?"

Rory slapped her forehead, willing herself out of the fog he caused. "Shit. No. Wait." She reached over to her dresser and rummaged around.

"You have condoms in your dresser?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope, damn it." She got out from under him. Her skin, still humid with the rainfall, had left an imprint on the blue sheets. She got on the tip of her toes and searched the top of the closet. Nothing. "I think my mom Gigi proofed the room". She looked back at him. He was staring appreciatively. "Stop looking," she said, her hands trying to cover everything and failing miserably.

"I like looking at you. You, naked, looking for condoms in your bedroom, this is new," Jess replied. "I like new."

"You should be helping to look," Rory said, reaching over the bed and pulling at the sheets. She wrapped herself in one and dragged it around the room, as she looked in all the drawers. "Wait, maybe…" She reached under the mattress and ran her hand along one side. "Try your side…" she added.

"Do I want to know why you have so many condom hiding places?" he asked, getting off the bed and running his hand along the other side.

"If we find one, are you going to care about the reason?" she reasoned. She couldn't help noticing how casual he was about being naked while she was covering herself.

"Nothing here," he said.

_Buzzz._

"Nothing here either," Rory replied, sitting on the bed, defeated.

_Buzzz._

Jess sat next to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. And laughed.

"It's not funny," Rory said, infuriated.

_Buzzz._

"It kind of is," Jess replied. "I mean, hey, I wish the situation were different, but I still have some ideas…"

_Buzzz._

"Where the hell is that buzzing noise coming from?" Rory asked.

Jess's eyes widened. "Shit." He reached over and grabbed his soaked pants, pulling out a wet cell phone, which agonizingly buzzed. He rubbed it on the sheets to dry it before answering.

"Hello?"

"Jess, guess what, guess what?" Annie's excited voice asked.

"What, what?" Jess asked. Rory raised an eyebrow. Jess mouthed, "Annie."

Rory nodded. An idea came into her mind. Holding the sheet tight against her, she crouched to look under the bed. Jess shook his head.

"I got you a magnet and a bookmark shaped like a musket," Annie added.

"Thanks, kid. So, uh, you're having fun?" It seemed wrong to be talking to his little sister while naked. He grabbed a pillow.

"Yeah. Uncle Luke just showed me where a bunch of patriots died."

"Can you put him on the phone?" Jess asked.

"Bye," Annie said, handing the phone over to Luke.

"Hey, kid, what's up?" Luke asked.

Jess ran his hand through his hair as he watched Rory get another idea, and rummage through her duffel bag. "Not much," he answered, careful with the irony.

"Yeah, well, the kid isn't tired yet, so I thought I'd show her around this town before heading home. You alright?"

"Yeah. Good. Just got a job offer. Bookstore."

"That's good," Luke countered. "Look, I gotta go catch the kid before she runs down the museum. She's obsessed with muskets."

"I'll tell you about the job later."

"You in the diner?" Luke asked.

"Uh. No." No more explanation needed.

"Ok. Say hi to Rory for me."

"Will do, Luke. See you later." He hung up the phone, left it on the floor.

Rory's eyes widened. "Ha-ha! Luke," she said, running out of the bedroom, only her legs visible under the blue bed sheet.

Jess dropped the pillow and looked at Rory from the doorframe. "Do I want to know?" he asked, as Rory raised the couch cushions.

Rory raised her hand triumphantly, a small square package in her hand. "Found two," she said, smiling. Then. "Oh, geez. I'm stealing condoms from my mother."

Jess laughed. "Come back here. We'll replace them later."

Rory replaced the cushions and walked back to Jess, closing the door behind her when she entered the bedroom. "So… a cell phone?" Rory asked, handing him what they'd been hunting for.

"I held out against technology for about ten years," Jess said, taking her hands in his and making her release the sheet she had wrapped around her. "It was time to give in."

"Hmm," she replied, kissing his shoulder. "You'd think the search and the phone call would've killed the mood."

"Hey, I resisted getting a cell phone for ten years. I've been trying to get you for ten years. You trump all mood killers," he said, his forehead pressed against her.

"You're corny."

"Plus the whole desperately running around half-naked, searching for condoms around your room is a definite turn on," he added, kissing her collarbone. "Though next time, no sheet."

"I promise," she said, the breath going out of her as he trailed kisses down to her breasts.

"Where were we?" he asked, taking her nipple in his mouth again.

"I think, right there."

- - - - - - - - -

Little puffs of air escaped his mouth as he entered her, slowly. He was silent during sex, Rory noted. She'd have to change that. He kept his eyes open and on hers.

She, on the other hand, let small whimpers catch in her throat, as her hips moved with his. Sometimes her eyes would close and she'd moan quite loudly. Her back arched as he peppered her shoulders and the top of her breasts with kisses. He needed her sounds.

He tried to capture her moan in his mouth, keep it for himself as he thrust into her again and again, still measured, still slow and restrained. But her mouth asked him to move faster, her hips ordered it, her fingers digging into his skin. He kissed the sweat off her forehead. "Please," she asked, and if he'd been an outsider he would have laughed at her politeness. But he understood her, completely, and he wanted more too. He readjusted his position and thrust deeper into her. Her whimpers became moans, her sounds became his name. His name in her mouth was a prayer, a song, a poem. He could feel himself close to the edge, unsure she was coming with him. His eyes searched hers but her eyes were shut tight and she gasped his name one more time before arching her back in pleasure. Her breasts pressed up against his chest as he reached behind her back to pull her closer. Two more thrusts and he was there right along with her, crashing down on her, all mouth and legs, bodies moving and shivering uncontrollably.

After the initial shock was over, the haze slowly dissipating, they found themselves looking at each other and laughing. There was a sudden comfort in knowing that their bodies understood each other as much as their minds did. Laughter. He'd never imagined laughing after making love to her. Jess ran his fingers up and down her glistening torso, tracing and retracing Rory's skin as the aftershocks subsided. That he could do this to her, that she could do this to him, that they could lay like this, together, naked in more ways than one, it was a small miracle. They had found a code. She had given herself like a book, and he was here to write on her margins, to attempt to understand her.

"I like you," she said, softly, grinning. They both knew this meant more, more than any statement they had said before, even their young I-love-yous. There would be time for those later.

"Same here," Jess said, kissing her shoulder. "So do I get the job?"

"Oh, my god, I bought a bookstore," Rory said, her eyes widening. She turned to look at Jess. "I bought the town bookstore," she said, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Huh. We just had sex, great one, by the way, if I may say so. And you're excited about the bookstore," Jess said, feigning hurt.

Rory propped herself up on her elbows. "Well, you brought it up."

Jess reached over to the dresser, taking the second little package in his hand. "I have an idea on how to change the subject," he said, grinning at her.

Rory smiled into his renewed kisses. "You must really want that job," she whispered, a little out of breath.

Jess started a path down her body, his tongue dipping into her navel. "You have no idea."

**TBC….**

- - - - - - -

**Author's note:** Ah. The M rating. I hope I lived up to it… And I hope you enjoyed the little interruption. Big believers in safe sex, these two, didn't let me keep writing the good stuff until they found the condom.

The next few chapters will probably be a little tamer, but worry not. Once I go M, I always come back to it.

Toodles to all for reading and reviewing, you really are the best fandom one could hope for. A shout-out to those who placed _The Kid_ on their favorite stories board. And thankyouthankyouthankyou to those of you who gave my one-shots_, Uncharted Territory_ and _Borrowed and Blue_, a chance. Reading those reviews helped me along with _The Kid_, too.

Stitches out next Saturday, but my writing is back on track earlier than expected… So I hope to be updating again this weekend. Thanks for all the good wishes!


	18. It's not the morning after, but

Disclaimer: If I owned Gilmore Girls, a lot of stuff would be different. Rory wouldn't have gone dimwitted and they would have still talked and walked fast in the seventh season. Alas, it was not to be. Hence, not mine.

**CHAPTER 17 – It's not the morning after, but…**

Jess was counting minutes, willing Rory's alarm clock to stop ticking and moving time forward. She was sleeping, quietly, beside him. He looked around the room, at the mess they'd made, their clothes still wet piles on the floor.

She slept face down. He hadn't known. Her back was smooth and freckled, and he resisted the temptation of bending down and kissing his way up her spine. There would be time for all that. Right now he wanted to watch her sleep. He still had five, maybe ten minutes before six, and the rain had already dissipated. Lorelai would be coming home soon and he wanted to be out before then. Lorelai and Rory were talk-y and he didn't want to be here for the rehashing.

He though about waking her right then, but decided to get dressed first, let her rest a little more. To be honest, he was pretty tired as well. A bit out of practice. He'd had a few girlfriends through the years, but his living situation never allowed for things to progress too far along, he never got very attached. And as Annie got older and started getting attached to others, asking questions, and Liz's boyfriends got steadily worse, he'd stopped bringing girls to the apartment. He'd been able to withstand Liz's screams before, but after a while it got old. Sometimes, even dangerous. No need to put Annie through more hell than she already had. No need to put a random girl in the mess either. Even if a few hadn't been so random.

He kicked himself for thinking of other girls right then. But then he stopped. They had been girls, and somehow as important to his life as Rory's boyfriends had been to her. But now he was a man in his own right, and Rory was a woman. And it was different.

A testament to the difference was his impulse to curl up and fall asleep next to Rory.

It was something he hadn't felt before with any girl.

He scooted over to the edge of the bed to pick up Christopher's old clothes. A pair of sweatpants and an old band t-shirt. It would do. His underwear needed drying, but he wasn't about to wear someone else's pants commando. As he stood up to get dressed, Rory shifted in the bed and sleepily opened her eyes. "You're going?" she asked, stretching.

"Not yet. Just getting dressed," he answered, pulling on his damp boxers.

"You'll catch your death in those," Rory said, rolling on to her side. Jess watched how her body looked like this, naked, in a position he hadn't seen before. She seemed almost a subject for a painting. "I have a pair of boxers that will fit you, I use them to sleep in." Then as an afterthought, she added, "You're so thin."

Jess nodded, half-smiling, and she reached over to the duffel on the floor, pulled out a dark blue pair. "Here."

"Thanks," he said. She seemed more comfortable in her nudity now.

She dropped back on her bed, face up, eyes on the ceiling. "What the hell am I going to do with a bookstore?" she asked, out of nowhere.

Jess smiled, pulling on a pair of Christopher's old sweatpants. "I still don't get how you could afford it."

"Just pretty good investments and frugality," Rory explained.

Jess lay back down beside her, his hand on her belly, tracing patterns on her impossibly smooth skin. "Care to elaborate?" he asked.

"I was in a relationship with this guy who did the financial report for a while. Year. Longer. He taught me about investing. I made a couple of smart choices and a very bad one, good outweighed the bad. And I don't spend a cent overseas, the paper provides me with food and lodging and travel expenses, so what I earn I just save and invest. Plus it was really cheap," Rory said to the ceiling.

Jess tried not to wince at the mention of another ex-guy in Rory's life. "The bookstore was cheap?" he asked.

"Yeah. Kirk was definitely looking to get rid of it. In a roundabout, Kirk kind of way."

Jess's hand circled Rory's hip. "I have to go in a little while."

"I know," Rory said, turning to brush his hair out of his forehead.

"You know that I wish I could spend the night," he said.

Rory nodded. She understood that this admission was, by far, his bravest. "Maybe next time."

"Yeah," he said, kissing her forehead.

"Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Dream of me tonight, ok?" she asked.

Jess sighed, pulling on a t-shirt. "I don't think I have a choice."

- - - - - - -

Rory watched Jess go and tried to get her room in better shape than it was. Jess had picked up some of the mess, but the clothes were her turf. She dressed quickly and picked up the wet clothes and threw them in a hamper, then headed to the laundry room.

She was a little sore, out of practice. There had been Logan and Josh, mainly. A couple of one night stands, that beautiful photographer in El Salvador when she was covering the _Maras_, which had lasted a few weeks… But they hadn't left her with this feeling at the pit of her stomach, this chest pounding when she picked up Jess's pair of jeans off the floor to wash them. It was thrilling. It was scary.

And then, as she turned the knobs on the washer to adjust the size of the load, Rory knew that it was time. Time to speak to Lorelai.

- - - - - - - -

"Offspring?" Lorelai called as she entered the house. She could hear the machine spinning. Rory came out of the hallway to greet her.

"I stole two condoms from you," she blurted out.

Lorelai smiled. "Sit. I'll get the ice cream. We'll talk."

- - - - - - - - -

Rory spooned the ice cream with incredible dexterity. Lorelai felt proud.

"I bought the bookstore," Rory said.

Lorelai came back to the conversation. "You what?"

"Kirk bought it from Andrew, and wanted to sell it to Taylor, who didn't plan on keeping it as a bookstore. I just couldn't let it happen," Rory explained.

Lorelai looked at her sternly. "Why do you care?"

Rory didn't seem to understand the question. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"You don't live here anymore. You just spent probably your life savings on a bookstore that might never generate revenue. Not only that, but it was spent on a whim, in a town where you don't live anymore."

"I do live here," Rory countered.

"No, you're crashing here, until you suss out what you want to do."

Rory shook her head. "This is my home," she countered. "So far, I've gone, I've come back. This is the place I feel at home."

Lorelai seemed disappointed. "So you're not going back to your work, to your dream?"

"Dreams change."

"Not this again," Lorelai muttered under her breath. "You're an adult now, Rory, I respect that. But you can't tell me all you've worked for doesn't mean anything, that you'll drop it to sell books and hang out with reformed-hoodlum."

"This isn't about him," Rory whispered, and that made it worse. A whisper was a scream in this house. "I've seen horrible things, mom, and I don't know if I'm strong enough to deal with them again. Me, here, is an attempt to regain my strength. But I need to do something while I regain my strength, I need to work. And if my spending all or part of my savings means the town that is MY HOME keeps its bookstore, then I spend it."

Lorelai seemed shocked at the clarity of mind Rory spoke with. "Why don't you ever talk about it, what you've seen? Everything sounds so clear in your articles."

"Nothing is ever clear. And I can't make it clearer yet." Rory stood from the couch and paced. "I won't be in your hair much longer, I'll find an apartment close to the bookstore and-"

"You don't need to, Rory. You can stay here as long as you want," Lorelai said, cutting her off.

"But I do need to. I love you, mom, and I love our house, but it isn't the same anymore. My room is Gigi's more than it is mine, I've forgotten how to work the dryer, I had to steal condoms from you... I need to be on my own. I've been on the road for three years and this town is home. So I need to find myself a place that is my home now, a place to touch down. And when I do, I bet you anything we'll see more of each other, talk more even." Rory sighed. "I need my space. Though I know you have space for me here, I need my own."

"And once you settle things…"

"Journalism is something I love, reading a great chronicle still gives me chills. Writing one should make me feel the same way. When it does, then I'll go back," Rory explained, sitting back on the couch.

Lorelai kissed Rory's hair. "You make me proud, you know? You strike out on your own, and you do your thing. You never cared if you were different, you read while others watched TV," Lorelai pointed out. "You have a home here and you can come back to us whenever you want. But… it's just hard for me to see you without a game plan. You're doing this, full out with no pro-con list. It's not that I doubt your capability… it's just that you're so centered most of the time, that when things like this come out of the left field and hit me over the head, I want to find someone to blame."

"Well, it was a little crazy, the bookstore thing."

"Well, yeah. Especially when blurted out right after the stolen condom thing."

Rory smiled into her mother's hug. "Right. About that…"

- - - - - - - - - -

"So. You and Jess," Lorelai said, finishing the last of her coffee cup.

"Yup."

"Wow. I mean, not an unexpected wow, just a… wow."

"I didn't think we'd ever… find our way to each other. Am not so sure we have yet."

"He's grown, he's good now, I get that." Lorelai played with her cup as she looked into Rory's eyes. "He always looks at you like you can lift a mountain. But he comes with a kid."

Rory nodded. "I don't know how we're going to work that one out."

"There's nothing to work out. He comes with a kid," Lorelai countered, playing devil's advocate.

"You know what I mean," Rory insisted.

"Do you know what you're getting into?"

Rory took a sip from her own coffee cup. "Not in the least."

"Atta girl," Lorelai said, kissing the top of Rory's head. "Welcome to the unknown."

- - - - - - - - -

Jess was coming out of the shower when Annie and Luke arrived. Well, when Luke arrived, carrying a napping Annie. "Hey, Jess," Luke said, maneuvering the kid and

some bags around the room.

Jess, clad in a towel, his hair wet, offered to take Annie. "Here, let me."

"Nah, I'm good," Luke said, walking a few more steps and depositing Annie on the bed. "You had a good day?" Luke asked, walking back to the living room. Jess was taking out some cold water from the fridge.

Jess smiled to himself before taking a swig from the water bottle. "Yeah."

"You sneaky little son of a -… you had sex," Luke said, reading right through him.

Jess nearly spit out the water. "How do you know?"

"Sneaky smile, showering early, you're not exactly Mr. Personal Hygiene."

"Hey, I'm a clean guy," Jess countered.

"Yeah," Luke mocked. "Get dressed, we should have a talk."

"Luke, I'm almost thirty. I get the facts of life, the facts of life got me," Jess joked.

"A talk, not THE talk. Go get dressed."

- - - - - - - - -

"This is Rory we're talking about," Luke started. 

Jess tried to hide his embarrassment behind sarcasm. "Oh, I'm aware."

"Good. I know you're not planning on running from her this time," Luke explained.

"Evidently."

Luke turned eyes full of fire to his nephew. "Hear me out, kid. You may be almost thirty but I'm forty and then some, and I'm thinking I talk, you listen."

"Shoot," Jess said, sliding down in his chair. He felt his teenage attitude creeping back in.

"Rory's got a career. A bright future. And she can't just let that go because of you."

"I know that."

"I know you do, but when the time comes, will you let her go?"

Jess looked into his uncle's eyes. It was scary how much he found of Luke in himself. And he couldn't lie to himself. Or to Luke. "She bought the bookstore. She says she wants to try it out, to be an "us". And I want to try, too."

"She bought the bookstore?" Luke asked.

Jess dismissed it. "I'm going to do all I can so that she goes back to work. But right now, she's not ready, she's scared, she hates what she's doing…"

"Are you kidding? Her writing is great," Luke argued.

Jess shook his head. "She can do so much more and she knows that. She's here to… heal. And I don't think I will be able to let her go when the time comes. But I will make sure she goes anyway."

"You've grown a lot," Luke pointed out.

Jess glanced toward the room where Annie slept. "It was time."

"What about the kid?" Luke asked.

"Rory and the kid, you mean?" Jess asked. Luke nodded. "I'm thinking we make it up as we go along. I've never done this before. Neither has she, as far as I know."

"Just, be careful," Luke warned.

Jess assented. "As careful as I possibly can."

- - - - - - - -

The phone in Luke's apartment rang clear into the night. Jess picked up.

"Hey," Rory's voice said over the line. His stomach flipped.

"Hi."

Silence.

"So Mom and Luke went out on a date," Rory said.

"I guess we're the topic of conversation tonight," Jess countered.

"We are. So Annie's…"

"Sleeping. She'll be up tomorrow early enough."

"Right. I talked to Sookie's pediatrician but he's booked. So I made some phone calls and got you an appointment with… another doctor. Tomorrow. That's ok, right?"

"Right."

"Good."

"Thanks," he said. More silence.

"The verbal thing seems to be going," Rory joked.

"Yeah, sorry Ror." The nickname of the nickname slipped.

"I like that you're the only one who calls me that anymore," she said. "So, I was thinking…"

"Not unusual…" Jess joked, regaining his capacity to banter.

"Hey, let me finish. So I was saying, I have to take the rental back to Hartford and I have to go to my bank, see if all is cool before I buy this thing," Rory explained.

"This 'thing' being the bookstore," Jess aided.

"Exactly. So I was wondering if I could hitch a ride back with you and Annie."

Jess nodded to himself. "Sure. Actually, at what time is the pediatrician's appointment?"

"After lunch. Two fifteen."

"I have to talk to Annie about… well, about the bruises that are already gone, and I might need some help. I want to have stuff clear before I go in to the doctor so maybe we could meet up, have lunch…" Jess said, a clear plea for help.

Rory remained silent for a second. "Wouldn't you rather talk with her somewhere private? She may not want to talk about it at all in a restaurant."

Jess kicked himself a bit. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Girls tend to be private," Rory reasoned. "Maybe I could join you for breakfast at Luke's? We'll talk in the apartment, then we'll drive down, you guys go with me to the rental place and the bank, I go with you to the doctor, then we come back and buy a bookstore?" Rory suggested.

"Why do your plans always sound better than mine?" Jess asked.

"Rory Gilmore, making pro-con lists since 1993," Rory replied. Jess laughed into the phone, a laugh that was unusual for him. Rory's heart leapt just a bit, hearing him laugh.

"Hey, about today," Jess started, mock-serious.

"Yeah?" Rory asked, nervous.

"We should do that again sometime," Jess suggested.

"Hmm… I'll have to think about it," Rory countered, smiling into the phone.

"You do that," Jess said. "I'll do the same thing. Like, right now, I'm closing my eyes, and picturing you running around your room with no clothes on…"

"Jess!" Rory exclaimed. "You're mean."

"I like you," he said.

"I'm sore," Rory confessed.

"I'm sorry," Jess said apologetically. What else could he say?

"Nothing to be sorry about. Just out of practice. Hope you didn't notice," Rory explained, nervously. He hadn't seemed disappointed, but still…

"You were perfect," Jess said, before he even knew the words were coming from his mouth.

"I only wish I was," Rory challenged. "I should get some sleep. Is eight alright for breakfast?"

"Eight is good."

"Good," Rory said, quietly. "Hey, don't forget what you promised."

Jess thought back for a second, then it snapped. "Like I have any other choice but to dream of you. Maybe I'll work that Chilton skirt of yours into the dream and a nice button down…"

"Jess…"

"Right. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

- - - - - - - -

Sleep was long in coming for Rory. She had suddenly decided that the side of the bed Jess had been on while she slept in the afternoon was somehow his side of the bed. And she didn't want to roll over into it, she wanted him there, beside her, occupying his side of the bed.

Was this how it was going to be? Was he forever now part of her life, part of her bed?

This was the bed she'd lost her virginity in, and that night, guilt-ridden and angry, she'd slept splayed on the bed, covering her side and the side Dean had occupied, crying herself to sleep.

When she slept with Logan, they never could decide which place was whose. One night she would sleep on the right, the other on the left. She never got much sleep with him.

Josh had never actually been comfortable in her bed. He would crawl into bed hours after she would fall asleep, finding whatever spot her body had left empty. He would be up and around before the sun and definitely before her.

But Jess hadn't even slept over yet and he already had a spot on her bed just for him.

Rory sighed, closing her eyes and facing his empty space. She understood now.

This, this was what it was going to be like.

This is what it was going to be like to love this man.

How complicated.

How uncomfortable.

How right, she concluded, as she traced his place in the bed with her fingers.

- - - - - - - -

TBC…

Ah, transitional fluff. May I live to see the day it becomes a genre!

Thank you all for the reviews. I was actually a bit sad, I thought my first smut chapter would get a lot more reviews, and I'm starting to wonder if earning my rating has diminished my readership. However, the story did get favorited a lot after last chapter, and for that I am very grateful.

Hmm… Food for thought.

Anyhow, stitches just came off and I have a couple more chapters of this written out so I should be posting tomorrow or soon after.

Hope you're all having a lovely day, thanks for stopping by and reading. Please tell me what you think!


	19. Kicked in the hiney

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Kirk, I would already be a published author, wouldn't I? As it stands, not mine.

**CHAPTER 18 - Kicked in the hiney…**

"Do we have to, Jess?" Annie asked, whining. She crossed her arms and refused to move.

"We have to," Jess sighed. He picked her up. He was glad she was still small enough to carry down the flight of stairs.

"I don't like doctors," she complained, big, silent tears rolling down her face.

He sat her down on the couch. He had made the mistake of telling her about the doctor now, early in the morning, before Rory had arrived, before breakfast, before anything. It had slipped his mind, that maybe it would predispose her. It had been innocent enough, he'd told her to dress nicely for the doctor's office. He'd come out of the shower seven minutes later and she'd changed back into her pajamas.

"I don't either, but sometimes we have to go," Jess explained.

"But I'm not siiiiiiick. I don't want to go…" she said, quietly letting her words drag.

She was sniffling. Her tears were huge and Jess could feel something inside him breaking.

"Why don't you like the doctor, kid?" Jess asked, softly, caressing Annie's reddish hair.

She sniffled. "They always ask questions and then they stick needles."

"You might not need any shots," Jess countered, not completely certain.

"But maybe I will. And I don't like it when they ask me to take my clothes off and then put that cold thing on my back to hear me breath."

Jess searched for ways to convince her. "This doctor is a doctor Rory found for us. Bound to be nice," Jess volunteered. "And I'll be there with you. I wasn't last time."

Annie nodded. "But I don't want to go."

Jess took a deep breath. "We have to, kid. At the school, they need a doctor's note to let you in after summer. You want to go to school, right?"

Annie nodded. "The first grade gets better books," she said, softly.

"Then we have to go, Annie."

Annie wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "Jess, is the purple gone?" Annie asked, looking up at him with watery eyes. "From my back?"

Jess nodded. "It's gone."

"I don't want people seeing the purple in my back. I saw it in the mirror," Annie clarified.

Jess felt himself shivering. He wondered if he'd ever been this nervous. She had brought the subject up and now it was time to ask her. All by himself, he was to have this conversation.

"Jake did that, didn't he?" he asked.

Annie nodded. "I tried to read out loud to mommy and he said to shut up, had a headache, said he was hangovered," Annie explained. "But mommy wanted me to keep reading. So he hit mommy. And I started to cry and he hit me so I would be quiet."

Jess felt something like hate stirring inside him.

"He… he shouldn't have done that. No one has a right to do that, kid," he said, steadily, as steady as he could. He brought her into a hug. "Grownups aren't supposed to treat anyone like that. He shouldn't have hit you or Mom."

"But it was my fault for not being quiet," Annie reasoned.

"NO," Jess said. He pulled back so he could see Annie's eyes. "It was not your fault, ok? You are a good kid. You're the best kid," he said. He felt himself soar, stronger, he was telling her what he wished someone had told him long ago. "You're smart, you're polite, you read good books," Jess volunteered. "Jake is an asshole and he should not have done that," he added.

"You said asshole," Annie pointed out.

"He deserves the word."

Annie smiled, sniffling. "When I'm big, I'm gonna be nice to my kids."

"I know you are," Jess said, kissing her hair. "The bruises are gone, kid. No one is going to do that to you again, not while I'm around. And I'm going to be right there with the doctor, so everything will be fine."

"I still don't like doctors," Annie said, conceding. Jess knew he had her convinced.

"Ok. I make you a promise. You go to the doctor, and I'll let you stay up past your bedtime tonight. Half an hour."

"And you let me read you," she added. "Pinky swear?" Annie extended her hand.

Jess took her pinky with his own. "Pinky swear." He smiled. "Now go put on some clean clothes. Come on. Rory's coming for breakfast."

"You like Rory," Annie teased.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jess said. And he blushed.

"Jess and Rory, sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G…"

"Come on, stop it," Jess warned.

"First comes love, then comes AAAAAAAAGhhhh!!!! Put me down, Jess. Put me down NOW!!!!"

Jess picked her up off the couch. "You asked for it!" he said, carrying her over to her room to change as she screamed bloody murder.

- - - - - - -

When Rory arrived at the diner, she was ready to find Jess chewing on his fingernails or messing up orders, nervous about talking with Annie. But instead she found Annie animatedly talking to Luke while Jess attempted, well, to shut her up.

"Jess looooooves Rory. He wants to marry her…" Rory overheard. She smiled; Jess hadn't noticed her presence.

"Is that so?" Luke asked, amused.

"Yeah, and he-" Annie was stopped by Jess hand over her mouth.

"One more word out of you and you'll never see another book as long as you live," he threatened.

Annie's eyes widened. And that's when Rory made her presence known. "What could she have done to merit such punishment? That's a little harsh, isn't it?"

Annie nodded, Jess's hand still over her mouth.

"Swear word," Jess and Luke said simultaneously. Luke backed out into the storage room, smiling.

Annie bit Jess's hand just a little, enough for Jess to back his hand away. "Ouch. Now I need to get a rabies shot," he teased.

"I did not swear!" Annie exclaimed. "Hi, Rory."

"Hi, Annie," Rory replied, smiling. She looked at Jess. "You seem… calm," she told him. "I gather everything's clear?"

"Yeah, we… talked," Jess said. Annie finished her orange juice. "She got hungry really early."

"I'm gonna go read," Annie said, jumping off the stool and smiling at Rory. "You're coming with us to the doctor, right?"

Rory nodded.

"Good," she said. She stuck her tongue out at Jess.

Jess stuck it right back. "Brush your teeth and feed the fish!" he called out as Annie headed up the stairs.

"Mature," Rory pointed out.

"Maturity is overrated," Jess pointed out. "So what can I get you?"

"A kiss good morning?" Rory whispered.

Jess took a step backward like she was on fire. "Gilmore, do you want a price on my head? Because you're signing my death-warrant if you do _that_."

Rory pouted. "I guess I'll have to settle for pancakes, then."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "Guess you will."

"You owe me," she said, going over to her table.

"Huh," he said, turning towards the kitchen. He'd find some way to make it up to her.

- - - - - - - - - - -

They set out on the road right after breakfast, Rory's rental tailing Jess's beat up car. Annie rode in the backseat, uneasy.

"How are you holding up, kid?"

Annie shrugged. "I'm ok."

Jess sensed it went beyond the doctor thing. "What is it?"

"Do you like Rory more than me?" she asked, fidgeting with her tutu.

"No! Do you think that?" Jess asked, trying to keep his eyes on the road.

"Mom liked Jake more than me," Annie explained, as if it was self-evident.

"Kid, Mom is sick…" Jess tried to explain. "She's not ok. That's why she does what she does. But someday she'll realize she was wrong…"

"Do you think she'll want us back?" Annie asked.

"I don't know," he said softly. He looked at her through the rearview mirror, then to Rory's car behind them. "I know one thing, though. You're my favorite girl. No one can change that. Not Mom, not Rory. I just… I like Rory."

"You want to marry her…" Annie teased again, which reassured Jess that her fears had been assuaged.

Jess smiled. "I don't know about that. But I like her. A lot. In a way that's different than how I like you. You remember when you said you don't get cooties from your brother?"

"Yeah?" Annie said, unsure as to where Jess was going.

"Brothers and sisters are special. We have each other forever, kid. And I'll always like you. Because you're my sister. But with Rory, it's different. More difficult. I don't know if she'll like me forever."

Annie nodded. "But right now, you like her. She makes you smile a lot."

"Right now, yes, right now I like her," Jess admitted, checking his side mirror before changing lanes. They were approaching the Hartford exit.

"And do you want her to like you forever?" Annie asked.

"I think so," he replied.

Annie smiled. "I think she likes you, too."

"You think so?" Jess asked. Too smart, this kid. Or was she just very observant?

"She visits all the time. And she takes us places. And she looks at you like… like she's remembering a book."

Jess sighed. Way too smart, this kid. "Do you like Rory?" he asked Annie, taking his exit into Hartford.

Annie jumped a little in her seat. "She's ok," she answered, simply, timidly. "But she talks too fast sometimes."

"That she does," Jess concurred.

"Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"I hope she likes you forever, too. I like it when you smile a lot."

And so Jess smiled.

- - - - - - - - - -

Rory stepped out of the bank and smiled widely at Annie and Jess who had waited outside, Jess fiddling with his thumbs, Annie reading out loud to him. They had accompanied Rory to drop off the rental an hour ago, and the waiting in the bank had been agonizing, but worth it.

"The bank gave me a loan!" Rory said, jumping up and down.

Jess raised an eyebrow, confused. "I thought you were going to, you know, use all that money saved from frugality."

Rory shook her head. "That was irrational-Rory speaking," she said, her wide smile still set on her face. "Rational-Rory talked a bank into giving her a loan, a five-year loan, which makes much more business sense."

"Rational-Rory scares us, doesn't she, kid?" Jess joked.

Annie raised her eyes from her book. "Huh?" she asked.

"Never mind," Jess said. He kissed Rory's cheek when she approached. "Congratulations on the… loan."

"Jess…" she said, almost a whisper, her eyes gesturing towards Annie.

Annie noted the interaction. "It's ok. I know he likes you."

Rory blushed.

"Yeah," Jess said.

"Could've warned me," Rory said, punching his arm.

"Lunch?" Jess asked.

"I'm sooooo hungry," Annie pointed out, closing her book.

Rory smiled. "I know a place."

- - - - - - - - -

When Rory had said that she had made some phone calls and found a doctor, the last thing Jess had expected was that he'd find himself in a small apartment building on the outskirts of Hartford. When Rory had said it was the dodgy end of town, he thought she was kidding. He never figured Hartford for a town with a dodgy end. But then again, when he'd been in Stars Hollow, he took a step and the place his foot landed on became the dodgy end.

The building was nice enough. On the bottom floor there was a small clinic. They walked up the stairs to the second floor and Rory knocked on a white door on the right, where the nameplate read Geller, MD.

Jess never expected Paris to peek out the door and smile. "You found it," she said, opening the door and hugging Rory tight.

"You e-mailed me a map," Rory countered, trying to get some air in her lungs.

"Come in, come in," Paris invited, ushering them into her immaculate apartment. "Welcome to The Projects Project Headquarters."

- - - - - - - -

Rory and Jess waited next to Annie as Paris finished up with another kid. The apartment had a small room that doubled as a private consult office. There was another woman with a small child in her arms, and an immunization card in her hand. Jess had seen attempts of small clinics back in New York, but they were generally understaffed and lacking in hygiene. But from what he'd seen… well, it was a testament to Paris' military-style skills. Annie held Jess's hand as she napped. Seeing Paris had calmed her a little; maybe it was the fact that she was a woman, or that she seemed young.

"Paris," Jess said, shaking his head and laughing just a little. "Paris Geller, MD."

"She's done an amazing job with this place," Rory said, smiling at the kid-friendly decorations around the room.

"Who would've thought?" Jess pointed out.

"Oh, not me. She wasn't much of a people person. I thought she'd go for pure medical research. But I'm glad she found her calling."

"It's a free clinic?" Jess asked.

Rory shook her head. "Scale. Pay what you can. Some people can't pay so they do the cooking, or the cleaning, in shifts. She's popular with the South American immigrants, since she's probably one of the few doctors in Hartford both fluent in Spanish and Portuguese."

"I don't know how much I should pay," Jess said. He'd hardly ever been to the doctor. He didn't get sick often, and he didn't like doctors much.

"Actually, you don't pay. I helped Paris with some startup money. Her parents were evidently not pleased with her career path," Rory explained. "That and the IRS was after them."

"You're drowning in money," Jess pointed out, joking a bit.

Rory shook her head. "I thought I was going to have a really hard time paying back my grandparents, but I was able to pay most of the Yale debt right off the bat. And then I had this money, and Mom and I never used to have money. Shopping is fun, but after a while… well, there's just so many t-shirts you can wear."

"I was kidding, you know that, right?" Jess said. Rory looked into his eyes, doubtful. "I don't reproach you what you have, you've earned it. And this…" he said, his eyes darting around the room. "This is a damn good thing, Gilmore."

Rory took stock of the room, of everything in it. Of Annie, who was shifting, waking up.

"It is, isn't it?" she said, smiling.

- - - - - - - - -

Paris warmed the stethoscope against her t-shirt before placing it against Annie's bare back. "Good breathing sounds," she said, smiling at Annie. "You want to hear your heart?"

Annie nodded, giddily. Paris placed the earpieces in Annie's ears and held the stethoscope against Annie's chest. "There."

She looked up at Jess, sternly. "You should've brought her in sooner," she said, frowning.

"Is something wrong?" Jess asked, eyes widening, his hand gripping Rory's.

Paris shook her head. "No. But after the kind of beating you say she took, she could've had."

Jess didn't know what to say. It was true. He hadn't been thinking. She was just a kid and he was playing dad and didn't know what he was doing and…

"Don't go there," Paris warned, looking at Jess, then at Rory.

"Go where?" Rory asked, confused.

"You. Jess. Don't go kicking yourself in the -" She looked at Annie, still playing with the stethoscope. "Hiney… for what's already done… you did what was necessary and urgent, which was to get her out of that situation. And you've taken good care of her, her weight is good, she's at the right height for her age, you've got her vaccination charts updated and everything. Just… next time, though there probably won't be a next time like this, but I mean, next time she gets hurt in any way, and you have any doubts or she doesn't feel good, you call a doctor. No. You call me. Got it?"

Jess nodded. Rory nodded.

"It's normal to not know," Paris continued. "When a new parent has a baby, they call the doctor all the time, call it instinctual nerves. But you don't have that, because you didn't prepare for nine months for this responsibility, it was thrust upon you. You didn't know what to expect or how to react. You didn't have the instinct. But you'll get it now, and you'll start to do things better. No self-doubt, no hiney kicking. You're doing a good job," she finished.

"So she's good?" Jess asked, ruffling Annie's hair.

Paris smiled widely. "Are you kidding? She's in perfect shape. Just bring her over for a checkup and a flu-shot in three months, ok?"

Jess nodded. Rory took a deep, relieved breath. She squeezed Jess's hand. Rory made a mental note to send Paris some chocolates. She had just given Jess a boost of confidence.

"Good. Now," Paris started. "Rory, fill me in, quickly. I have five minutes for gossip before my next patient. You, Kerouac, help her get dressed while Gilmore and I catch up," she ordered, closing the curtain behind her as she dragged Rory to the small office to talk about Jess.

Jess smiled as he helped Annie into her T-shirt sleeves, overhearing Rory's detailed answers to Paris' nosy questions. Some things never change.

- - - - - - - - -

Annie slept the entire ride to Stars Hollow. As they approached the town, Rory watched Jess's face with care. He seemed relieved to be closer to town, and still a bit worried.

"Paris is right, you know," Rory pointed out.

"About what? That I was an idiot for waiting before taking her to the doctor?" he asked.

"No," Rory countered. "That you're doing a good job of taking care of her."

Jess gripped the steering wheel forcefully. "How, Rory? How am I doing a good job? I don't know how to talk to her or when she needs a doctor. I don't know if I should be teaching her about birds and bees, and I have no idea what I'll do when she gets her first period. Maybe I should be teaching her about God. Maybe I should get her baptized… I don't know what the…" He lowered his voice. "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. And nothing you say is going to change that."

Rory felt the air punched out of her. She remained silent for a minute.

"I deserved that," she said, softly.

Jess sighed. "No. You didn't," he countered, looking into her eyes, sideways. "I shouldn't have yelled."

"It's true, though. I don't know the first thing about kids. I can't give you advice, judge you." Rory looked closely at Jess, his jaw tight. "But I know you love her."

"Yes, but is that enough?" he asked. "Liz loved her. It wasn't enough."

"Liz is broken."

"I'm not all that great either."

Rory sighed. "When you brought her to town, to Luke's, you were enough to get her out of hell. You will screw up, you will make mistakes, you will hurt her and she will some day tell you that she hates you," she said, smiling softly as she ran her fingers through his dark hair. "Because it's what we do to our parents when we're kids, what we did. But I think, in my uninformed opinion which matters next to nothing, I think that you and her are going to be ok."

"I'm afraid she'll turn into me," Jess said.

"That wouldn't be so bad," Rory countered.

"You're biased."

"We all need someone on our side."

Jess sighed. "I want to be good for her."

"You will," Rory said, leaving his hair alone. "You will."

Jess focused on the road ahead, the lights of the town becoming visible. Rory smiled again, her eyes on the road as well. "And you can always call my mom for the first period talk. She gave me a great one."

Jess groaned as he turned onto Main Street.

**TBC…**

- - - - - - -

**Author's note:**

Ah, parenthood. It's tough…

I hope I am portraying these complications in a way that doesn't come off as too gimmicky. Jess is not a natural-born parent. He was used to just taking care of his own "hiney" for most of his life, so naturally some things will be complicated. Hope you are finding these things truthful.

Anyhow, I want to thank all of you for the feedback you've left, it's great to hear from all of you.

And to you that suggested Jess co-own the bookstore, I think it would be a bit of a stretch, seeing as they guy is still working paycheck to paycheck. But worry not, there is a future out there for Jess, and Rory's work-related stories will come into play soon enough… But please, keep sending your suggestions, and your thoughts on The Kid. Annie loves to read what you have to say! Thanks for reading…


	20. Exploring

**CHAPTER 19 - Exploring…**

Annie bounced around the children's section excitedly, Jess watching her closely. The bookstore was quiet, Kirk had called off the Black, White and Read showings for the following weeks so that the transition between owners would be smoother. Rory, suspicious, had made him try out the projector and Roll 3 of Cool-Hand Luke. Jess found it very amusing, Kirk running around bossed by a Gilmore.

"So everything is in order, yes?" Kirk asked.

Rory nodded. "I think we've ascertained this."

"And you're certain you do not wish to retain the current management?" Kirk insisted.

"Of that I am certain," Rory said, smiling at Jess.

"Well, then, I'll just sign here," Kirk said, taking his pen out of his pocket with a flourish.

"You do that, Kirk."

Kirk took his own sweet time signing. "You had a lawyer look these over?" Kirk asked, pausing after the first signature.

"Kirk, these are standard Stars Hollow contracts, you got the copies from Taylor. They are fine."

"Just checking."

"KIRK!" Jess called out, aware that he still had the same effect on Kirk that he'd had when he was younger.

Kirk finished signing speedily and extended his hand with three sets of keys towards Rory. "Here are your keys," Kirk said, handing Rory three sets of keys. "Front door, store room, apartment upstairs, in triplicate."

Rory counted the keys, then did a double take. "Wait. Did you say, apartment?"

"Yes, I did."

"As in, I just bought the second floor of this place, too?" Rory asked. Jess looked up from the book he'd just picked up.

"Well, of course. Andrew left most of the electrical appliances and furniture, those are included, and the mattress is brand-new, I replaced it when I bought the place but I have been staying at Lulu's, if you know what I mean."

Rory closed her eyes trying to gather patience. "So what you're saying is that I just bought a bookstore, all the books in it AND an apartment for THIS amount of money?" She opened her eyes and Kirk could see the anger in them. "Kirk, is this place set for demolition tomorrow or something?"

"No," Kirk answered, matter-of-factly.

"Then why the hell are you selling it so cheap?" Rory asked, very confused. "Is there a lean on it? Does the mafia collect money from you every day? Do you run a meth lab in the back?"

"Jess, what's a meth lab?" Annie asked, looking up from her book.

"Uh, I'll get back to you on that one, kid. Cover your ears and read," Jess replied, looking at Rory helplessly. He walked over to Rory's side, only to have Kirk burst into tears.

"I hate this place," he cried out, his face a pained grimace.

"Kirk, what are you talking about?" Jess asked.

Rory placed a timid hand on Kirk's shoulder. "Are you ok?"

"All these old books give me allergies and every one of them stares at me, reminding me that I haven't read them. The projector makes this noise that gives me a headache and if I see Pippy Long Stockings one more time I might just chew my arm off!" Kirk declared. "I would've given it for free, but then you would've been suspicious."

"So why did you want to keep working here as manager?" Rory asked.

"Again, I didn't want you to suspect," Kirk explained, grabbing his jacket. "I should go now. It was a pleasure doing business with you, Rory. Goodbye."

And with that, Kirk ran out of the bookstore as fast as his legs would take him.

"Weird," Jess said, under his breath.

"Double weird," Rory agreed. "Want to explore? See the apartment?"

Jess shrugged. "Why not?"

- - - - - - - -

Annie held Jess's hand as they walked up the dusty wooden steps to the upstairs apartment. Rory led the way up ahead, groping the wall for a light switch.

When she hit it, magic.

The apartment was lined in bookshelves. The appliances looked old, the refrigerator was early sixties, the television set was probably late eighties. It held a striking resemblance to Luke's apartment.

"Wow," Rory said, running her fingers on the bookcovers. "These must be first and second editions. Moby Dick," she added, barely above a whisper. She almost didn't dare disturb the books.

"Phone works," Jess said, looking at an original green dial model.

"This looks old," Annie said, tapping on the tv.

"It's a blast from the past apartment," Rory said, a smile spreading over her face. "It's perfect, right across the street from Luke's," she paused, looking over to Jess. "Oh. But you're moving…"

Jess shook his head. "Walking distance. You can sprint over there. Drive. I can walk with a cool stride and still get here in less than 15 minutes."

"Everything here is close to everything else," Annie pointed out.

Rory smiled. "That's true."

Jess felt the cell phone buzz in his pocket. He answered it, rolling his eyes as Annie studied the knobs on the TV. "Talk," he said.

"Hey, kid," Luke's voice came back. "You in town yet?"

"Yup. Checking out Rory's new bookstore," he replied. Rory stuck her tongue out at him while she ran her fingers on the kitchen counter. The cabinets were dark green.

"Good, so Rory's with you."

"Yeah, she's here. Kid's here, too. It's a town party. Wanna join us?"

Luke seemed… quiet, even for Luke. "Nah."

"Did you call just to check up on us?" Jess asked. "That's darn sweet and all, but you know we're ok."

"Actually, I'm kind of calling because of Lorelai," Luke started.

"Is she alright?" Jess asked, eyeing Rory nervously.

"Yeah, just, Rory's not picking up her cell phone, so she wanted me to call you and ask you if Rory was dressed," Luke let out, at high speed.

Jess nearly choked, laughing. "Fully attired in a French Maid outfit," he retorted.

"JESS!" Luke groaned.

"Is Lorelai with you?" Jess asked.

"Yeah."

"Put her on."

"What?"

"Put. Her. On. The. Phone."

Jess heard the exchange over the line, Lorelai's initial refusal, Luke pushing the phone into her hand. "Hey, Jess," she said, nonchalantly.

Rory raised a curious eye at Jess. He never talked that long on the phone to anyone. Except her. Jess winked at Rory, which only worried her more. "Do you want Rory to come to the phone?" he asked, and before waiting for an answer, he added, "She's dressed now."

Rory's eyes widened. "Is that my mother?" she asked.

Jess nodded. "She asked if you were dressed."

"Was that what the French maid reference was about?" Rory asked, walking to Jess and taking the phone.

"I could've said you were just wearing socks." Rory punched him in the arm.

"Jess, what's a French Maid?" Annie asked.

"Hey, wanna watch some TV?" Jess asked, deflecting, while Rory rolled her eyes and placed the phone to her ear.

"What's up, Mom?"

"You didn't answer your cell."

"Oh," Rory said. "Must have left it in the car."

"Oh."

"Why were you calling?"

"Remember the other day, with the sleepover and the whole sock on the door discussion?" Lorelai started.

Rory could see where this was going, and it was not something she wanted to hear. "Ah, so, sock on the door tonight?"

"Hey, like it's Christmas and there's a chimney," Lorelai said.

"Stocking? Uh, never mind. I'll make do."

"You sure?"

Rory shrugged to herself. "Sleepover."

"Doesn't that work nicely for both of us," Lorelai pointed out.

Rory sighed, looking at Jess. He held the tv antenna over his head and stood on one foot so Annie could make out a signal on the TV. "It kinda does."

- - - - - - - - -

Annie took a while to get ready for bed. Over stimulated by the day's events, she bounced, read, refused to put on pajamas, was wrestled into them by Jess and bounced and read out loud to Jess and Rory some more, before falling asleep exhausted, a book gripped tightly in her hands. Jess and Rory walked out to the living room, closing the bedroom door behind them.

"Thank Bowie," Jess said, plopping down on the couch.

"Huh?" Rory asked, confused, sitting next to him.

He stretched his arm over her shoulders. "We all have our own gods."

"Mrs. Kim would be so disappointed," Rory replied, giggling in exhaustion.

"You tired?" Jess asked.

Rory pondered. "Yes. No. Yes. Depends," she said.

"On what?" Jess raised an eyebrow.

"On whether you make me an offer I can't refuse," Rory deadpanned.

"Hmm…" Jess looked at her sideways. "Pizza and making out on the couch?"

"I like this couch," Rory said, facing Jess.

He inched closer to her. "Good memories."

"Pizza can wait," Rory pointed out as Jess tilted her chin towards him.

"Couldn't agree more."

- - - - - - - -

He wasn't entirely certain how they ended up in Luke's room. Living room seemed too close to Annie's room, kitchen felt too public, bathroom felt too kinky.

The couch thing had started as perfectly innocent as a make out session could. But for some reason Jess had started kissing Rory's jawline and then, out of the blue, horizontal.

Jess could've gloated, but he was busy.

Rory would have laughed, but it wasn't the moment for it.

Plus, she was moaning.

"Sshhh," Jess had shushed, too close to her ear, the hairs on her nape going insane.

"Jess… we should…" started, and Jess felt himself grow eager at the shakiness of her voice.

"Stop?" Jess asked, nibbling on her earlobe.

"Move," Rory suggested.

"Where?" Jess asked, moving so that they both came to stand.

"Elsewhere," she said, taking his hand. He pulled her close. His mouth on hers, balance was the last thing on their minds.

They bumped into the coffee table… they kissed against the bathroom door. Somehow, she ended up sitting on the kitchen table, her legs on both sides of his hips, and her moans not getting any quieter.

"Room," he suggested, kissing her collarbone. She nodded.

- - - - - - - -

Was it always going to be this urgent? This… necessary?

She felt she was going to stop breathing if he stopped doing what he was doing. Which was to kiss her… everywhere. She wasn't sure when her top had come off, or her bra, or her pants. And now his fingers were hooked in the elastic of her panties and he was sliding them off, an inch at a time.

He kissed every bit of skin that became exposed. He took his time. Urgency without rushing? Was that even possible?

He kissed. He licked. He made her moan and whimper and move in unexplained ways. And all the while, he looked at her.

Rory's eyes were squeezed shut. They would languidly open for a second when he stopped to look at her, a gaze that pleaded so that he would continue. When he hit a new nerve, or when his breath touched her right before his lips did, her eyes would fly open violently.

If she had been thinking at that moment, she would have called what Jess did studying. He was studying her every reaction, every move. And when she came, he watched her, never ceasing his movements, never letting her have a moment's rest, but seeing everything. Her hands tangled in his hair close to the point of pain.

She trembled, holding in a scream. He wasn't entirely sure what was more arousing, the noises she suppressed or the little noises made by her attempts to suppress bigger noises. He would have laughed, but it wasn't the moment for laughter. He kissed a trail up her body, his tongue snaking into her navel, his lips brushing her breasts, his mouth on her neck.

"You. Illegal," she said, her palm resting against her forehead.

"Your heart is beating really fast," Jess pointed out, kissing the back of her hand.

"Oh, yeah, I'm just having a small heart attack," Rory said. "No biggie."

"Told you not to take the little blue pill," Jess quipped.

"I dislike you intensely," she replied, giving Jess a withering stare. His heart skipped a beat.

"I can see that. You almost pulled all my hair out by the roots…"

Rory grinned at him. "You deserved it."

Jess raised an eyebrow at her. "What else do I deserve?" he asked, reaching for his pants in the floor.

"Chocolate, flowers, a bookstore, a chunk of the eastern seaboard for what you just did. Maybe a small country. How about Ecuador?" Rory answered, kissing what exposed flesh she could reach as he reached over to the floor.

"Hmm… Only because of the Galapagos Islands," Jess said, trying to concentrate on rifling through his pockets while Rory's hands and mouth wandered, her fingers playing with the elastic of his boxers.

"You read too much Vonnegut," Rory said, pulling down Jess's boxers, and kissing Jess's exposed belly.

"Leave me alone, woman," Jess said jokingly, his hand producing a small square silver package.

"How boy-scout-y of you, so prepared."

"Yeah, me and Luke, we don't have that kind of relationship. Not stealing from him," Jess pointed out. Rory took the condom from Jess's hands and opened the package. Silently, she looked into Jess's eyes. It was again, not the moment for joking.

"Stole it from Paris," he added, almost as an afterthought.

Rory smiled. "You're so getting a small country."

They were kneeling in front of one another. Rory felt new, like this was the first time again. But then again, it felt comfortable to be so close to him. Like they'd been doing this for years.

"Can I try for a larger country?" Jess asked, leaning towards Rory and whispering in her ear.

Rory shivered, her hands coming closer to him. She slowly rolled the condom on him, gently, never looking away from his eyes. She could see in them how he was trying to keep a tight reign on himself. She stroked him, softly, and nodded.

"I'm thinking Brazil," Jess said, his voice shaky, taking her hand away from him and laying her down on the bed.

- - - - - - - - -

It was different this time.

Jess felt nervous, more so than the first time. It seemed like they fumbled over everything. His hand pulled on her hair unwillingly, Rory kneed him in the thigh. He kissed her a bit too hard, causing her to push him away a bit, he hit his arm on the dresser.

Finally, they found their place, their stride, and he entered her, slowly, between laughs. He took forever.

Languid strokes that built up rhythm. Rory felt a knot inside herself tighten little by little as he set their tortuous pace. His mouth tried to find a place to rest but could not concentrate on one. He softly whispered her name once, and then it became a mantra.

It was something about the way he said her name that finally made her burst, and this time, her orgasm took its time in subsiding. It was just as deliciously slow as his strokes had been tortuously measured.

He picked up the pace just a little, and she helped him along, her hips moving in tandem with his, seeking a second, deeper release. She was there, faster than expected, and it made him tumble as well, her name flowing from his lips as if he was calling out for her in the dark.

She watched him as he came, his brow furrowed, his eyes closing for just a second, his body involuntarily thrusting deeper inside her, his lips seeking hers.

"Rory," he said, a final sigh, into her hair. She smiled.

"Samba, beaches and caipirinhas," she whispered, kissing his shoulder. "Bemvindo a Brasil."

- - - - - - - -

Rory slept peacefully, half-dressed. She had started dozing off naked but Jess had mentioned the remote possibility of Annie or Luke walking in on them and she had pulled on her underwear and stolen Jess's shirt. Now his t-shirt hitched up on her body and revealed her underwear, her belly, as she turned. She had muttered something about the sides of the bed and it took Jess a while to figure out that she was on the same side she'd slept on her bed after their first time.

Two hours later he still wasn't sure what it meant. Lying on his side, he lazily traced shapes and words on the skin on her belly and she stirred. He kissed her cheek and her eyelids fluttered.

"Let me sleep, buster," she murmured.

"I've never wanted to sleep with anyone else before," he said, nuzzling her neck. His breath was warm on her skin, a comforting rather than arousing warmth.

"Right," she said, pulling down the t-shirt and turning to face him, sleepily.

"Sleep, really sleep, I mean."

"I like it, when your verbal thing comes back. Just, you know, three am is tough," Rory pointed out.

"I like you."

Rory stretched. "I know. Annie told me." She yawned.

"Your hair is growing back curly," he pointed out, his fingers running through her still-very-short hair.

"I hope you mean that as a compliment."

"Ok, I get it. Three am, grumpy Rory. We sleep," Jess said, rolling onto his back.

"Good," Rory replied. She rolled onto her belly; she did, after all, sleep face down. But with one swift movement she lifted herself on her elbows and planted a kiss on Jess's lips. "Goodnight," she added, placing her right arm to rest on Jess's torso.

"Goodnight," Jess replied, softly rubbing her wrist with his thumb.

**TBC…**

- - - - - - - - -

**Author's note: ** Ack! So FFNET will not let me post the chapter as I originally planned it, so I had to split it up a bit. I will post the rest during the weekend. I had intended this for Valentine's day, but, of course, I had to get the mother of ALL colds. Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed it.

Please, let me know what you all think. I'm having great fun with this story and I love reading your reviews…

Toodles…


	21. What freaking out is all about

**Chapter 20: What freaking out is all about**

Luke walked into his apartment at half-past six, the diner ready for customers and the first pot of coffee brewing downstairs.

The first thing he noticed was that the coffee table was misplaced. The second thing he noticed was that Annie was watching cartoons with the sound very low, on the sofa where Rory's purse rested.

"Morning, kid," Luke said, straightening the coffee table. "Your brother?"

"Shhh…They're sleeping in your room…" Annie said, pointing towards the door left ajar.

"Did you, uh, try to wake them?" Luke asked, trying to sound out this new territory.

"No. I don't like them today," Annie pointed out, crossing her arms on her chest.

"Why's that?" Luke asked, sitting next to Annie.

"They had a sleepover but they made ME go to bed."

"Huh."

"Yeah."

"I'll talk to them when they wake up. You want some breakfast?"

"After cartoons."

- - - - - - -

"Rise and shi-i-ine!" Lorelai's voice rang out through the space between the door and the doorframe.

Jess, startled, fell off the bed with a thud.

The thud made Rory come out of her sleep.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are…" Lorelai insisted, knocking on the bedroom door.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Rory asked, pulling the t-shirt/nightgown down to her knees. And to Jess: "What are you doing on the floor?"

"Making friends with the dust bunnies," Jess replied. "What's your mother doing here?"

"I'm coming in," Lorelai said, kicking the door open a-la-Kill Bill, pointing a digital camera at them.

"Mom!"

"Lorelai!"

Lorelai snapped a picture. "Ha! Now I have proof. If you don't want the town to run you out bearing torches you will give me free coffee, Jess Mariano."

"I'm in hell," Jess muttered, resting his forehead on the mattress.

"Your uncle wants a talk with you, spawn," Lorelai insisted. "You want to get some breakfast, babe?" she asked Rory.

Rory shook her head in disbelief. "Sure. I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Bye…" Lorelai said, closing the door behind her.

"Your mother," Jess said, standing up from the floor and readjusting his boxers. He leaned in to kiss Rory's forehead.

"Don't remind me," Rory replied, burying her face in her hands.

- - - - -- - - -

"So…" Lorelai prodded.

Annie colored on the counter. Rory's eyes darted from her pancakes, to Annie's back. Since Jess and Luke were upstairs, she felt like it was her turn… responsibility… to keep an eye on her. "That was not cool, mom."

Lorelai's smile fell. Rory was serious. If she had pulled this antic with Dean, or Logan, Rory would have smirked at least. But now she was… serious. "I was only joking."

Rory looked up from her pancakes. "Things with him are complicated enough. If he feels you're scrutinizing him he'll…"

"Bolt?" Lorelai volunteered.

"Close off," Rory corrected. "He can't run now," she added, looking at Annie. "But he can still hide."

- - - - - - - -

"You need to have the talk," Luke stated, matter-of-factly.

"No, I don't," Jess said.

"Not with me, you dolt. You with Annie."

Jess's mouth formed a perfectly shaped O. "Isn't it a little early?"

"You don't need to go into details. But right now, that kid is angry because you and Rory had a sleepover that she wasn't invited to. So maybe it's time you explain to her about the sleepovers you and Rory are going to keep having so that she won't get angry EVERY time," Luke suggested.

Jess rested his forehead in his hands. "I'm an idiot."

Luke patted Jess's back. "You're a parent now. You notice how parents always turn into idiots? Well, it was your turn."

"Seeing as my parents weren't really around, don't have much of a reference," Jess pointed out. "I'm an ass. I have no fucking clue about what I'm doing, I think I'm making the right choices, but I'm probably not. Kirk probably knows more about how to raise a kid than I do," Jess said, directing his anger at the table by slamming his fist down. "I'm starting to understand Jimmy a little bit," he added, almost a sigh.

Luke's eyes widened, alarmed. "You're not…"

"No. NO. I would never cut and run. Ever. I can't run out on her. On them. Not again." Jess swore under his breath. He reached into his pocket for a cigarette he knew would not be there. "How do I do this? How do I take care of Annie? How do I not hurt her? And how do I not hurt Rory? I'm still the same fucking mess I was seven years ago."

"You are not the same mess," Luke countered. "You can't know how to do this. You just… learn along the way, I guess. Ask Lorelai. Ask Sookie. Hell, ask me," he added. "I didn't know a thing about kids. Then April came along and I had to learn, fast. Just… you have to keep your eyes open and your ears open and you have to not be afraid to ask for help."

"I've never been good at that," Jess said, shaking his head.

"You've gotten better at that. But you freak out a lot easier now. It sucks. You used to be cool," Luke added.

Jess could feel a flicker of a smile on his lips. "I did, didn't I? I used to be so cool."

- - - - - - - - - -

Rory and Jess sat on the coffee table, across from Annie, who was concentrated on the book in front of her. They'd discussed it before, pow-wowed, as Lorelai had put it, and Rory had decided to brave it along with Jess.

Annie looked up from her book to find them fidgeting and staring at her. "Why are you two looking at me funny?" she asked.

"Luke said you were mad at us," Jess started.

"True," Annie replied, bringing her book back up so that she wouldn't have to look at Jess and Rory.

Rory rolled her eyes and gave Jess a look that said, _she is sooo your sister_.

Jess shrugged and screwed his stern face on. "Kid. Book. Down. Now."

Rory watched as Annie tensed. Although Jess hadn't raised his voice, she could tell Annie knew he meant business. He probably didn't use that clipped tone often with her. It reminded Rory of… Luke.

She tried to hold in her smile.

Annie lowered the book. "What?"

"We just wanted to talk to you…" Jess started. "Explain."

"Nothing to explain. You left me out. You said I was your favorite girl," she reproached. No sniffles. No tears. Just flat out truth. Jess's heart stopped.

"You are," Jess said.

"Then why couldn't I be at the sleepover?" Annie asked.

Jess sighed, giving Rory his best _help-me-out-here_ look. "Annie, I'm going to try to explain this as best I can, and I'm new at this, kid, so I need you to cut me some slack, ok?" Jess asked.

Annie nodded slowly, unsure of where this was going.

"Ok. You know that I like Rory, and we talked about how it's different from the way I like you, right."

Annie nodded.

"Well, sometimes when people like each other like Rory and I like each other, we like to be alone to-" Jess grasped for the word. He looked at Rory in panic.

"Kiss?" Rory volunteered.

"Yes, kiss," Jess agreed, relieved. "Kiss."

"Yech," Annie said, sticking out her tongue.

"You keep thinking like that," Jess said. Annie raised an eyebrow. Rory laughed. He continued. "The point is, sometimes Rory and I will sleep, or go out, together, without you, and it's not because we don't like you, or because I like you any less…"

"You just want to kiss," Annie completed, nodding in understanding.

"No. I mean, yes, but also talk and other things. I mean, how would you like it if I wanted to be there all the time when you're playing with Brian and Lee?"

"I'm not a baby. You don't need to be there ALL the time," Annie pointed out, defensively.

"It's the same, kiddo. But I love you to pieces, you know that, right?" Jess asked.

Annie nodded.

Jess nudged Rory, who'd held his hand the entire interaction, nervously digging her short fingernails into his skin. The way Jess had told Annie he loved her, without hesitation, left her breathless.

Rory recomposed herself, taking a deep breath and giving Annie a wide smile. "And you know that I like you, right, Annie? You're cool and we had fun when we had a sleepover and we can do that again. I'm not trying to take Jess away from you. But if you don't want me to hang out with you guys so much, or you want me to go away, you just have to say the word."

Annie shook her head. "I like you. You're cool, too."

"And we're cool?" Jess asked, pointing to Annie, then to himself.

"Maybe," Annie conceded.

"I'll take maybe," Jess said, smiling.

Rory smiled, too.

"Jess?" Annie asked, before returning to her book.

"What?"

"Did Mom and my dad have sleepovers like you and Rory did, back when she was happy?"

Her question was almost as if she were inquiring about a missing page in a fairy tale. Rory could tell that Jess had told her stories, some true, some made up, about a better time when TJ was alive and Liz was happy. These stories involved double beds, flowers, etch-a-sketches and a love so powerful that the absence of it broke Liz.

"Yes, they did," Jess said, his voice soft.

"When I'm older, if I find a boyfriend, can I have those sleepovers too?"

Rory choked a laugh, then tried to mask it by coughing.

Jess turned beet red and glared at Rory. "Ask me again when you're my age," Jess said, as coolly as he could manage.

And at that, Rory walked out to the hall to laugh, while Annie returned to her book.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Jess walked Rory to the bookstore, a short distance, but long enough. They had spent all day together again, and Jess couldn't help thinking he was happy. Her presence, the fact that she had decided to buy a toothbrush at Doose's instead of going home early, the way she hooked her fingers on his belt loop before apologizing for her mother's crazy antics…

He was in trouble. He knew this. And now, the night had fallen yet again and they were in front of her new bookstore.

"So," he started. Stopped.

"The verbal thing?" Rory asked. "Coming or going?"

"Gone," Jess countered, sighing.

"Huh."

Silence. Rory looked around her purse for the keys to the place. She wanted to have a second look around, come up with a game plan.

The keys dangled beneath her fingers but she pretended to keep looking, so she'd have something to do with her hands.

"It's complicated, isn't it?" she asked, her hands and eyes on the purse.

"More than you bargained for?" he asked back, his hand dropped from her waist. He stuck it in his pocket.

Rory stopped looking through her purse. She gripped the keys tightly in her hand. "There are just so many things I haven't even thought about you and me that could… no, that _will_ affect Annie."

"Same here," Jess volunteered.

"What I mean is, are you sure? Are you sure you want me in your lives? I feel like I'm going to screw things up. And then, what if I go back to work?"

"If?" Jess asked.

"When."

"Then you'll go. You'll say goodbye then, and she'll wave back. It's a bridge we'll cross when we get to it, don't you think?"

"Just like that?"

"Probably a lot more complicated than that."

Rory took her hands out of her purse and faced Jess in the doorway of the bookstore. "Are you sure you want me around? Are you sure it'll be good for her?" she asked.

Jess took his hands out of his pockets and rested them on her hips. Middle of town, right next to the town square, in the darkness of the street dimly lit by gaslight. He was getting used to feeling watched. "Yes. And yes."

Rory raised an eyebrow, unsure.

"The verbal thing comes and goes, but that, that's true. I want you around and I think having you around Annie is a good thing. It helps her to see that, you know, all women are not like Liz."

"I'm no one's role model," Rory countered, looking at the floor.

"Look at me, Rory," Jess demanded, his finger raising her chin. "You were the only person who believed in me, back when there wasn't much of me to believe in. You said it yourself, yesterday. We all need someone on our side. Role model is a strong word. But cheerleader, yeah. You can be her cheerleader."

Rory broke into a smile at the analogy. "You just want to see me in uniform."

"That too," Jess conceded. "Although if I could choose, I'd go for the Chilton uniform."

"If you keep insisting I might just have to dig it up," Rory countered, looking up into his eyes through thick eyelashes.

"Stick around," he asked of her. It took all his strength to ask this of her.

She nodded, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "Ok."

"Ok."

"I have to figure out this bookstore business the next few days," she said, apologetically.

"I have to figure out some school stuff for the kid. Have to get started on the house, Tom told Luke he'd give us a hand."

"So we might not see much of each other this week," Rory completed.

"Might not."

"I'm sticking around, though," she explained.

Jess nodded. "We can make some time."

"I can do breakfasts at Luke's."

"I can call. Drop by the bookstore."

"Are we regressing to taking things slow?" Rory asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Guess so," Jess replied.

"We are so weird."

"We are."

Rory smiled. "Come in for half a second," she ordered, bringing the key out and opening the door.

"I have to go back."

"Just a second," she insisted.

They both stepped inside, the darkness of the store shielding them from the onlookers that had moments before stared at them.

In the darkness, Rory reached for his hands, and twined her fingers with his. "One step closer," she whispered.

He stepped one closer. She smiled. In the darkness he could almost see her, but not quite. Little spillover from the streetlights. "What's this about?" Jess asked, whispering as well.

"Proper goodnight," Rory replied. "You know, one for the road."

"For the week," Jess countered.

"Jess… quiet."

"You keep stealing my lines," Jess quipped.

Rory shook her head. "Jess… say goodnight," she said, inching closer.

In the darkness he leaned in, bumping noses. She gave a little chuckle. He could feel her breath on his skin. He dipped closer, taking her lips with his. She allowed her mouth to open, deepening the kiss. His tongue stroked hers and she sunk into the feeling of his kiss. She let go of his hands to hold him closer, he did the same.

She clung to him, and his hands rested on her hips.

It was more than either of them had expected. How was it that after going as far as they had gone together, something as simple as kissing in a dark bookstore felt impossibly new?

Emerging for air a little later, they held hands once more. They breathed each other's air, smiling and sensing each other's smiles in the dark. Among the shadows, Jess reached behind him for the doorknob. He opened the door, allowing for some of the light that the blinds obscured to filter in. He took a couple of steps back. In the play of light and shadows, he could see the smile on Rory's face that the darkness had hid.

He smiled at the purse at her feet, at her goofy grin, at her reddened lips. "Goodnight, Rory."

And he walked back out into the summer night.

TBC…

- - - - - - - - - - -

**Author's note:** Of course, this was really part B of the last chapter I published, but let's not up the confusion level by adding letters to numbers and getting all algebraic.

Anyhow, yes, I will be going into Rory's experiences, though maybe not in the following two chapters, as I have a bit of a tangent to go on before.

On the next chapter, Jess runs into… well… the stars hollow public school system. Gotta love it.

Oh, right. I just wrote and published a one-shot called **The Kicker, ** a humorous angst fic. I don't know if that even exists, but there you go. A lit fic with a special appearance from Paris, because we all love her. Stop by and tell me what you thunk!

Toodles!


	22. Storytelling

Chapter 21: Storytelling

There was something oddly amusing about facing your high school principal ten years later, Jess thought. Especially if you were a drop out.

"Well, if it isn't Jess Mariano… And to what do I owe the honor? Finally repeating senior year?" Principal Merten asked.

His hair was grey now.

"Uhm, no… I got my GED already, thanks," Jess said, trying to keep calm. No sense in beating up the principal before enrolling your kid in grade school.

"Ah, glad to hear it. Please, sit," Principal Merten indicated. "As you can see, I decided to forego surly teenagers for wild grade-schoolers. Not sure if it was my best career move, but there you have it.. What can I do for you?"

"The registrar said I had to speak to the principal before enrolling my sister in first grade. Something about you wanting to meet parents of all transfer students," Jess explained, handing the principal a thin manila folder.

"Doula Ann Jameson," the principal looked up at Jess through bespectacled eyes. "Your sister, you say."

"Yes, Sir."

"And you're her guardian," he added.

"Yes."

"Care to tell me how that came about?"

"Shitty family situation," Jess said, before he could catch himself. "Sorry."

"Hope we don't run into that kind of problem with Doula," the principal pointed out.

"She goes by Ann."

"I'll be sure to tell her teachers. So, I see her transcripts look fine, and she had a checkup and her vaccines updated. I don't see any problem to her joining us in the fall. We'll schedule the placement test for… next week, how does that sound?" The principal checked his calendar.

"Uh, placement test?"

"Well, of course, there are great differences between inner-city pre-schools and a grade school like Stars Hollow Grade School. A well applied placement test will determine if Ann is well suited for the first grade or if she needs special help," Principal Merten explained.

Jess could feel his fist tighten. Special Help? Short-bus special, he probably meant. "Trust me, if anyone's well suited for the first grade, it's my sister."

"Well, then, we have nothing to worry about," the older man replied. "How does Thursday sound?" the principal asked, his hand extended to shake Jess's.

Jess shook his hand, a little tighter than usual. Special help, his ass. "Oh, Thursday's fine."

"See you then," Principal Merten said, closing Annie's file.

"With bells on," Jess muttered on his way out.

Principal Merten shook his head. Some things never change.

- - - - - - - - -

Jess walked into the empty bookstore.

"We're closed," Rory's voice rang out from behind one of the stacks.

Jess walked between the shelves and found Rory immersed in a novel, surrounded by books. "Uhm… that's one strange way of doing inventory."

Rory blushed, looking up from the book. "Yeah, I hadn't read this one."

"You are never going to have this place up and running if you keep reading all the books you have to count," Jess pointed out, extending his hand to Rory.

"Any suggestions?" she asked, taking his hand and standing.

"Work on your business plan this week, let me do the inventory next week," he said, handing her the application.

"Sounds like a plan," Rory said, running her fingers through her hair. Dust fell from her hair. She sneezed.

"Bless you."

"That sounds really funny coming from you," Rory said, laughing. She walked around the counter to the register, leaving the application on top of the counter. "So, what brings you here?"

"Went to the grade school today," Jess said, grimacing.

"That well?" Rory asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Principal Merten was so horrified by the mere possibility of me repeating senior year that he transferred to grade school."

"Oh, crap."

"Yeah. He wants the kid to take a placement test. Annie? Come on… she's probably better read than Merten." Jess fidgeted with the edge of his jacket. "Is it even legal for him to make her take a placement test? It's probably discrimination. I could sue his ass."

"It's customary, Jess. I took one at Chilton," Rory explained.

"Yeah, well, Chilton is a long way from Stars Hollow Elementary."

"Jess, Annie will do fine."

"She'll go insane if she gets held back. She's been gushing for weeks about the books the first graders get, and the elementary school libraries. She'll kill me if they make her go back to pre-school. She'll bludgeon me to death with _The Lorax._"

"Jess. Stop the freak-out. Deep breath," Rory said, handing him a bookmark. "Here, have one."

"Buying my silence with a bookmark?" Jess asked.

"Yup. Take a deep breath. Go finish the book I gave you. Go… replace a window or do something manly and carpenter-ish."

"Huh?"

Rory came out from behind the counter. "When's the placement test?"

"Next Thursday," Jess replied.

Rory pushed him, a hand on his back, leading him out the door. "First, you don't tell her what the test is for, you tell her it's a game/quiz. Second, you tell her a couple of days before, not now. And third, go hammer something. Take your mind off it. Come on, out. I have work to do."

Jess smiled. "Yes, ma'am. Going now, ma'am."

Rory took the bookmark from his hand and slapped him upside the head with it. "And stop making fun of me."

"Hey, careful, you push me out on the street and I get run over, I'm suing you."

"Go. Now!"

- - - - - - - - - -

Jess wiped down tables at the diner, looking through the diner windows out to the Gazebo. Rory sat there, surrounded by papers and notebooks, looking straight at her new bookstore. At this distance, Jess shouldn't be able to see with such detail, but he knew these things. He knew she had different colored pens and markers, to-do lists and pro-con lists and supply lists.

Every once in a while, he caught her head turning to look at the diner, and he knew she was smiling.

And he would smile, too.

- - - - -

"Annie?" Rory called from the bookstore register. She could hear Annie's footsteps coming closer, approaching from the children's section. "You done organizing the Dr. Seuss collection?"

"Yes. I did it al-pha-be-tica-lly."

"That's great help, Annie. Thanks," Rory said. "So I think we're done for today," she added.

"Can we go to the house?" Annie asked.

Rory nodded. "Grab your coat," she indicated. Annie ran to the back to get it.

Jess had asked if she could keep an eye on Annie in the bookstore while he worked on the house repairs. Tom had given him and Luke a couple of pointers and left them to work. Lloyd, Lane and Cesar had been in charge of the diner for a few days, with Luke stopping by a couple of times a day to check if they hadn't run the diner into the ground.

She was curious as to how much headway they'd been able to make, though she doubted much had changed in a week and a half. During phone calls, Jess had told her about Tom's approval of the wiring and pipes. He told her about repairing the roof, about needing to install rain gutters. Fascinating, Rory thought to herself, rolling her eyes.

She closed the bookstore and, hand in hand with Annie, headed to the house.

- - - - - - -

The sun was still up, a product of the lazy summer they were living. Annie didn't seem at all unfazed by the prospect of her placement test, and this made Rory feel particularly proud of Jess. He'd handled it right.

Jess saw them approach from atop the roof. Rory smiled but didn't wave, a precaution. She'd seen enough movies where guys in hard hats and tool belts fell off the roofs, distracted by waving at women.

Jess yelled something at Luke, who was working on the porch steps, and Luke moved to hold the ladder. Jess stepped down.

"Hey," he greeted them. Annie ran to Jess, taking the air out of him as she buried her face in his t-shirt.

"Hi," Rory replied, smiling. "Annie did inventory today."

"She did?" Jess asked. "Good, you're earning your keep," he added, ruffling Annie's hair.

"Can I see my room?" Annie asked, ignoring Jess's joke.

"It's not ready yet," Jess warned.

"I don't mind," Annie countered.

"Luke, can you show the kid her room?" Jess asked, winking at Rory.

"It's not ready yet," Luke replied.

"I don't mind," Annie repeated, louder.

Luke softened, smiled. "Ok, kid, come on."

Jess took off his hard hat and placed it atop Annie's head. "No running. Do as Luke says."

Annie nodded, going to Luke and taking his hand.

Rory smiled. "You two are such softies."

"Killing my rep, now?" Jess asked, leaning in to kiss her.

"Can't be any worse than singing YMCA at you," she replied, signing the letters with her arms.

"Ouch," he replied, kissing her deeply.

"Hey to you, too." Rory smiled. "How's it going?"

"Good," Jess said. "Hopefully we'll be done in three weeks, and just in time, because April's coming to visit soon and there really isn't enough room for all three of us."

"What about furniture?" Rory asked.

"Secondhand and some stuff Luke has in storage."

"If it's not ready on time, you can use the apartment above the bookstore," Rory offered.

"Yeah, but where does that leave you?" Jess asked.

"I'm not moving in yet."

"We'll see," Jess said, not wanting to ask too much of her.

"I offered, Jess. Don't forget, ok? My arm isn't twisted."

Jess nodded. "Thanks."

"So, give me a tour?" she asked, smiling.

"It'll have to be the PG version."

She punched him in the arm. "You suck."

"Huh," he said, kissing her cheek. "Hey, did she say anything about the test tomorrow?"

"Nope."

"Good," Jess said, relieved.

"Tour?" Rory insisted.

"When they come out. Can't go in without protection," Jess pointed out.

Rory raised an eyebrow, blushing a bit.

Jess realized his slip. "Dirty, huh?"

"A little."

- - - - - - - - - - -

Jess held Annie's hand in front of the building that housed Stars Hollow Elementary School. "_That's_ the school?"

"Yup," Jess replied.

"But it's half as big as my pre-school," Annie complained.

"And New York is… "

"802 times bigger than Stars Hollow," Annie repeated. Something she had memorized because Jess pointed it out all the time.

"Which means…" Jess continued.

"It could be worse," Annie concluded.

"Always." Jess smiled. "You ready?"

"Ready," Annie said, taking Jess's hand and leading him into the building, which seemed larger and more menacing as she approached.

- - - - - - - - -

Jess waited, sitting on the bench in the hallway, while Annie worked on her test with a young teacher Jess recognized from around town. Every few minutes, Jess would stand up, pace, wish for a cigarette and peer through the small square window in the door.

The teacher seemed friendly enough, smiled a lot. Jess paced some more.

An hour later, the test was over and Jess could tell Annie was tired. An hour-long test would be tiring for anyone her age.

"Was that fun?" he asked her, smoothing her hair.

"Some of the questions were fun. Other ones were boring," Annie explained, bending down to tie one of her shoelaces. "But the reading part was fun."

"Good. You want to wait here while I talk to the teacher?" Jess asked. Annie agreed, taking her book from the bench.

"Hi," he said, smiling at the teacher. "Uh, how'd she do?" he asked.

"Jess, right?" the teacher asked. "Jess Mariano?"

Jess nodded. "I'm sorry, have we met before?"

"No, no. I just heard a lot about you. I'm Lulu. Kirk's fiancée."

Jess wasn't sure if this was good or bad. "Right. Lulu. I've heard him mention you."

"Yeah, he looks up to you. Calls you Stars Hollow's James Dean."

Jess laughed. "Yeah, well, it's not as bad as it sounds."

"She's your sister, right?" Lulu asked, kindly.

Jess nodded. "Yeah, I was kind of hoping you could enlighten me about this whole placement test thing."

Lulu nodded. "Well, first let me tell you that's one smart little girl you have on your hands. And she did well on the test, so there's no doubt that she'll be starting elementary school with us this year…"

"I hear a "but" coming up in that sentence," Jess said.

Lulu smiled, tight-lipped. "She is reading at a grade two level. Granted, she favors Dr. Seuss books, it's normal, but she's got most of the first grade math concepts down pat. The test will be reviewed by the principal, but most likely the school will suggest that she skip a grade."

Jess silently took this all in. "This is good, right?" he asked.

"Yes, and no. If she stays in first grade, she is likely to get bored easily, as everyone will be trying to start up on skills she already has, and this could lead to disruptive behavior and disinterest in class," Lulu explained. Jess thought that sounded way too familiar. "But if she does skip a grade, she will be one year younger than most of the kids in her grade. They've all been here a year, they know each other, and they've already teased each other mercilessly. She'll be the new girl in a class that might already be tight knit. You could end up facing a teary-eyed little girl the first few months of school."

Jess looked at Annie, who'd sat on the floor instead of the bench, right across from the open door. She looked so happy reading, unaware of the particular branch of hell school would expose her to.

"So, what would you recommend?" Jess asked, grasping at straws.

Lulu pursed her lips for a second, then turned to look at Annie. "There's some literature I can suggest that will talk about the pros and cons, but it is ultimately your decision. You know her better than anyone else, you know what she can handle. I'll give you my home number if you have any questions you want to ask. The school will probably contact you next week, so you have time to decide." Lulu handed him a piece of paper with her number and wrote down on a yellow sheet of construction paper the list of books she recommended. "Please try to call before 9 o'clock at night. Kirk has night terrors and if you call and wake him up he might think that the phone is trying to attack him," Lulu added.

Jess tried not to laugh. "I'll keep that in mind."

- - - - - - - - -

Jess walked to the bookstore with a sense of urgency. He'd dropped Annie off at Lane's, where Zach was in charge of the twins for the afternoon. The twins had been banging on a few toy instruments and Annie had gleefully joined in. It was nice to see her playing with things other than books.

But now it was his turn to search for books and it had no sense of play to it. He'd actually hardly ever done this, research books, and he was eager to get it over with.

The door was open, although the CLOSED sign remained on the door. Rory had spent the past two days sitting on the stairs to the apartment, looking at the bookstore from a certain height and trying to figure out how to redistribute the shelves. She was so concentrated she didn't even hear the bell on the door.

"Hey," he called out, which brought her out of her trance.

"Oh, hi." She walked down the stairs to greet him. "Reporting for duty?"

"Not really," he said, shrugging.

Rory's eyes widened. "The placement test? What happened?"

"Easy. She's not getting held back. It's sort of the opposite, actually," he clarified. "They want her to skip a grade. I have to decide whether to say yes or no to that."

"They want her to skip first grade? Wow. Just… wow."

"Yeah."

"That's good, isn't it?" Rory asked.

"Depends, apparently. Can I use you?" Jess asked.

"Well, that came out of nowhere," Rory said, confused.

"I mean, can I use your bookstore as a library and see if there's a couple of books I need to read?"

"You do realize you're the one doing inventory, right? If you don't know where it is, I can't help you."

"I'll poke around," Jess countered.

"Good luck with that," Rory offered.

Jess started towards the non-fiction sections, thankfully yet untouched by Rory and her new aversion towards the Dewey-decimal system (he'd convince her to keep it, sooner or later) but then halted.

"Huh," he said.

"What?" Rory asked.

"I've been here for two months now."

"You have?" Rory asked.

"Yup."

"Huh."

"Yeah."

Rory took a few steps towards him and kissed him full on the lips. He almost couldn't catch his breath. "Happy second monthaversary of your return to Stars Hollow."

"Why, thank you."

"Why, you're welcome." She kissed him again. "Now go research while I think of some way to mark this occasion."

- - - - - - - - - - -

Rory fidgeted with the pages of her notebook.

Two months.

If Jess had been here two months it meant she had been here two months. Yes, this was an accomplishment for him, making a home for himself and Annie in this crazy town. But she felt, for the first time since she'd gotten here, the weight of her own decisions.

Two months away from the job. Two months without reading a newspaper other than the Stars Hollow Gazette, without checking her work email; two months without living and breathing news.

She didn't feel more alive, or deader. She felt… stuck.

She hadn't stopped to think about it, but now that she did, she felt sick.

She had come home to figure out how to deal with everything that was spiraling out of her grasp. Instead she had locked herself away from it, letting it become a distant memory.

Rory glanced over at Jess.

Jess who was making a new life for himself.

Jess who now had some sort of long-term plan.

She felt like a slacker next to him.

She felt… like a child.

She sighed. Closed her book.

"I've gotta go," she said, out of the blue. She stood up and walked out, leaving everything behind: keys, coat, everything.

Jess watched her go, too shocked to stop her.

What had just happened?

He left the books he was holding and grabbed the keys off the counter.

He locked the door of the bookstore behind him and headed towards the only place he knew to find her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jess didn't walk up to her immediately. He allowed her to sit for a half an hour, quietly staring at her feet inside the lake. Then he approached.

"I freaked," she said, not even looking up. Who else would it be?

"I noticed," he said, sitting cross-legged beside her. "Want to talk about it now or when that long-awaited-for 'later' finally gets here?"

"Now," Rory said, unexpectedly.

He reached for her hand, and she let him.

She started speaking fifteen minutes later. In the midst of the noises of nature, she painted a picture of a place far away, sands, huts. "My first day, there was an attack. It was supposed to be just a visit for me, to get acquainted with my guide. Then out of the blue, these men came on horseback and all my guide could do was hide me as best he could and… they weren't coming for that camp, they were looking for something or someone specific. But that didn't stop everything from going wrong, horribly wrong… twenty-seven people died, right then. It wasn't a dark stormy night. It was murder, mass murder, under the unblinking light of noon, Jess. And my words couldn't do it justice."

Jess nodded slowly. Rory wasn't crying because tears weren't what this was all about.

"Draft upon draft and my words weren't enough to do death justice. There was a pregnant woman, young, younger than I am now. And children. And that was just the first day." Rory paused, a nervous laugh leaving her lips. "I came back because I wanted to find a way for my words to honor them. Instead, I've spent the last eight weeks trying to forget all about their faces. How fake am I?"

"Rory…"

"No… It's true. My writing is cold and lifeless and I'm doing nothing to make it any better. I can't bring them back. I should be able to. I should be able to breathe life into them one word at a time. But I can't, and I'm not doing anything to change that."

"Yes, you are. You said it yourself, you needed to come back here to heal. If you couldn't even say this last week, or yesterday for that matter, how could you have written it?" Jess countered.

Rory shrugged, her eyes still on the water. "I hid. I hid while others died. How is that fair?"

"Someone has to be the eyes of the world, Rory. We can't all be fighting the wars. Someone has to be there to tell the stories about the wars," Jess whispered. "It isn't fair, it isn't nice. It's disheartening. But no one else will know about what you've seen if you're not there to tell it."

"I used to feel that was my role, the storyteller, the historian. But if I can't say it? If I can't tell the story in such a way that it makes people listen…" Rory questioned. She finally looked up at Jess. "What then?"

Jess took Rory's hand between both his hands. With one finger, he traced and rubbed the places where her fingers bent. "You can tell me what you saw, and I can write it for you," he said, an offer flowing from his lips before he could even think it through.

"How?" Rory asked, again, a whisper.

"I know how you feel things," Jess said, attempting to explain. "I know how events and people touch you and how your hair moves and how you smell. And I know how you shiver when you're nervous. Maybe I can write you."

"Write me?"

"Write you. And when you tell me something, I will write you in that situation. And maybe when you read yourself, living what you lived, you'll find your voice again," Jess finished. As soon as it was out of his mouth he knew it was a ridiculous plan. It involved her reading what he wrote.

"And I would be your character," she added, half-questioning.

"In a way," he replied.

She took a deep breath. "Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"At least it would be doing something. It's better than just… doing nothing, saying nothing."

"It might not work, I may suck at writing what you tell me, I…"

"Don't talk me out of it, I'm already scared enough," Rory complained.

"Ok."

"Ok."

"You just tell me what you want, when you want. And I'll write when I can."

"So we're doing this," Rory said.

Jess nodded. "Looks like it."

Somehow, her hand in his seemed smaller.

- - - - - - - -

They went back to the bookstore in silence.

In silence, she led him up the stairs to the apartment above it.

With a sense of renewed urgency, she pulled him close to her and kissed him, forcing him to find leverage on whatever he found nearby.

They were so quiet, no sound from their lips, no voices. He sat her on the kitchen table and hungrily kissed her. She pushed him against the refrigerator and undid his pants, until they were but a heap on the floor. The sound of shifting furniture, the rustle of clothes, louder than them.

They needed to create silence, because it was the only place where their words would exist.

He pushed up her skirt and pulled down her panties, she pushed down his boxers.

Urgency.

Her legs wrapped around him, he fought to find his balance as he entered her, swiftly.

And the silence broke.

She didn't moan this time. She cried out his name, once, twice, too many times. He pushed inside her against any and all barriers and when he thought she was about to break she would say his name, reassuring him that she would not.

He groaned into her neck, her name a litany. She came with a scream and a shudder that made her entire body shake and it took all his strength to keep them from falling.

He came silently but just as overwhelmingly, his knees weak.

He managed to get himself and her on the floor in one piece, no broken bones, no falls, by sheer luck. The linoleum was a bit dusty and Rory couldn't help sneezing.

Jess kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose. He laughed because he couldn't help it. She laughed because she couldn't help it. She felt… light.

She could tell him a story, a place, a face. He would translate her. He would tell her a truth. He would tell her truth.

The laughing gave way to languid kisses, quiet caresses. His hands pushed rebellious hairs off her forehead.

And so in this silence, Rory spoke. "When I came back to Stars Hollow during my first downtime after a month-long assignment in that battlefield that no one wanted to see, there were banners and people had framed my article. I never felt so far away from home than I did that time. I was so ashamed of getting attention for being me and getting no attention for the reality that was there," she said, absently. Jess kissed her collarbone. The linoleum dusty floor was itchy, but she wanted to talk and he wanted to listen. She traced shapes on his bare back. "I threw up every morning because I knew someone would tell me how good the article had been. My mom even asked me if I was pregnant," Rory added, her own hand fanning out on her belly. "And I remember I told her, I won't ever have children, ever."

"Why?" Jess asked. He looked at the discarded clothes around them, discarded birth control as well, and it just seemed like the thing to ask.

"Because I can't bring a child into a world that is breaking apart if I can't promise to keep it together. And I know I can't promise that," Rory answered. "That's what I thought then, anyway," she added, almost as an afterthought. She looked up into Jess's eyes. "I don't know what I think now."

"I think that one day you'll find the way to keep a small portion of the world from breaking apart. Just a small portion. And maybe that will be enough," he whispered, brushing her hair off her forehead.

"Is that what you do? For Annie?" Rory asked.

"I try…" Jess replied.

Rory nodded. "You do that for me, too, sometimes."

"I wish I could do more."

"You can stay here with me like this for a little longer."

"That, I can do."

"Good." Then, she smiled at him. "Two months in Stars Hollow. How does it feel, the arm chewing?"

Jess kissed her full on the mouth. Enough said.

- - - - - - - - - -

Luke woke in the middle of the night to the hum of the tv set outside.

The light of the kitchen caught his attention and he walked sleepily out onto the living room.

Jess scribbled furiously on a legal pad, his hands stained with blue ink, his body hovered over the table, partially covering the light he was using to write by. He wasn't sitting down and he wasn't standing up. He was somewhere in between, a trance, a position that made him ready for flight.

Jess held the pen almost violently, a weapon, a knife. Luke didn't dare disturb him.

He silently backed into his room again, and smiled, proudly.

- - - - - - - - - - -

_She arrives by night, a single-engine Cessna carts her over from the nearest spot on the map to a spot no map will ever reveal. Everything she knows about this place can be summarized into its coordinates. Longitude, latitude._

_In the desert, the nights are as cold as the days are hot. She wraps her jacket tightly around herself and expects that the day will be hell on earth. _

_For once, she is not mistaken._

_She awakes to the sound of gunshots, improbable gunshots. She realizes quickly that they are just spillover from her last assignment, that the crackle of the fire outside has moved into her dream and in that moment before waking, created gunshots in her mind._

_Of course, she learns later that day, hunters use rifles, and the sound of a rifle is completely different._

_Rifles sound like they did in cartoons, back when it wasn't a problem of politically correct for a cartoon to show a rifle._

_She ponders as she eats what she is offered, thankful for her sturdy stomach that can stand goat meat at seven in the morning._

_The wind blows dust into her hair. She takes notes._

_Now she knows the word for goat meat. Now she knows the word for wind._

_A guide introduces her to some women. Their names do not roll off the tongue, they click against her palate, foreign, although she must now understand she is the one that is foreign. And her name, so often ridiculed at home, is just as strange here. _

_It is too difficult and the women settle on calling her something that sounds eerily similar to the word they use to name the red sand beneath her feet._

_She knows more than latitude, longitude, now. _

_And that is when they strike._

Jess stopped. With the back of his hand, he rubbed his eyelids and stretched.

Was it enough? Was it true? Was he idealizing her? He didn't know.

He stood from the kitchen table and stared at the paper on the table. Crumpled, the writing partially legible, partially smudged, it seemed like it would never be enough.

He grabbed the paper, for a second pondering if it would be better to tear it apart.

Jess sighed. It was too much about her.

Deep down, he knew that everything he'd ever written was a little bit too much about her.

She wanted to get word out about the disaster around her, and he was just drawing her portrait.

But maybe that would do. Maybe all he needed was to write her as well as he could, and she would read about herself, and she would yell at him, complain, hate him, and then she would take a pen and cross everything out and start over.

He wanted to see her, pen in hand, starting over.

He folded the piece of paper up and stuffed it into his pocket. It was late, time to go to bed. But once on the couch, with no lights on, he couldn't fall asleep. His fingers itched to know more, to write more.

When he finally fell asleep, he dreamt, the first dream he remembered upon waking in Stars Hollow.

Horsemen, wrapped in red fabric, galloping in slow motion to take Rory away.

TBC…

**Author's note: Hey hey hey to all… And the deepest of apologies. I was stuck with a very important scene that comes up in the next chapters and I couldn't put this up until I knew what was coming and how. So now that my head is clear and that my fingers are typing like lightning bolts, I give you a new chapter, which I hope you enjoyed. I don't know if my idea of Jess writing Rory works. So I really would love your feedback. **

**The next chapter has lovely smut to match this one, the one after that probably has more drama than we all bargained for when we started reading this. And after that, well, all bets are off…**

**Hope you liked it, sorry I kept you waiting. Please drop by and tell me your thoughts… **

**di**


	23. Lazy days, strangest ways

CHAPTER 22: Lazy days, strangest ways…

Rory woke on the dusty couch of the apartment above the bookstore.

The previous night had been so intense, she'd refused to move.

Jess had stayed as long as he could, and Rory felt a little guilty about how hard it was getting for him to leave. Every time it was just a little more tough. Every time, he'd lean in for a kiss goodnight that turned into a longer kiss and after a while he would realize it was getting later and later…

Last night it had taken them an hour to say goodnight. An hour of almost letting go of each other and then not being able to.

She felt guilty because she knew he did too.

He'd carried her, from the floor to the couch, bumping her foot on the fridge. He'd let her talk while he traced patterns on her arm. He had kissed her cheek.

It was official. She was scared.

She took deep breaths and sunk in deeper into the couch. Not moving was a good idea. Not moving was the best idea.

Except that her phone was buzzing on top of the coffee table.

She extended her arm and took the phone.

And it was him.

And even though every evasive bone in her body told her to let it ring, her thumb had other plans. So did her mouth.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he replied.

"I'm still here," Rory confessed.

"Here where?"

"Right where you left me," she explained.

"Huh."

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm at the door of the bookstore, letting myself in," Jess replied. Rory sat up as she heard the bell, the keys, the door lock. "Now I'm walking up the stairs." His footsteps approached steadily and she heard it both on the phone and close by. She could hear his breath.

He looked at her from the apartment's doorway, and she looked back.

He hung up.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Why are you here?" Rory asked. It wasn't a complaint, it was just… she just needed to know.

"Have to finish my informative reading," Jess replied, looking up from the book. "You kinda put a damper on my plans last night."

"You complaining?" she asked, leaning over from her notes to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Yes. Formally. This is sexual harassment in the work place," Jess answered.

"Ah, shove it," Rory countered.

Jess laughed. He liked it when Rory got a little angry. Just a little.

"So what's Annie doing today?" Rory asked.

Jess shrugged. "Child labor?"

"Be serious," Rory ordered.

"She decided she wanted to follow Luke around today, demanded it, so Luke and I took a break from the fixing up the house thing and I decided to do the research thing," Jess explained.

Rory nodded. "You can read at home," she volunteered.

"You tossing me out?" Jess asked.

"Just saying…"

Jess closed his book, carefully leaving one finger between the pages he wanted to mark. He looked up at Rory. She was still stretched out on the couch, just as he'd left her the night before, taking up the entire couch and leaving him to read on the floor. "I wanted to see you," he sighed out.

"Is this healthy?" Rory asked, running her fingers through his hair.

He shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Rory shrugged back. "I think of all the time we spent apart and it makes me nauseous."

"I wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for that time. I'd be… I'd still be immature, you'd still be too frail," Jess explained. Leaving his book on the floor, he turned to her. Her eyes pierced into his. He reached for her hand, and smiled softly. "We both had to grow up for us to work."

"I know…" she smiled, tight-lipped. "I just… I feel like there's this huge chunk of your life that's a big mystery. And I can't ask you about it all because I can't tell you about a chunk of my life yet."

"You started last night. So maybe it's my time to share," Jess replied, slowly. "Ask me anything."

"Tell me something no one else knows," she said, raising the sheet that covered her, inviting him onto the couch. He kicked off his shoes and got beneath the sheets with her. She wore only a t-shirt and underwear, and she wondered if not having showered the previous night meant that she smelled. But she didn't care all that much, she wanted him near.

"Ok," he said. He held her by the waist. "I went to California to get to know my father," Jess said. "And to get away from failing school and failing you. That you know."

She nodded, so close to him that the bridge of their noses touched.

"When I got to California I found that Jimmy had another family. He left because he couldn't handle being a father, but not only was he almost married when I got there, he was taking care of this other kid, not his own." Jess shook his head. "He ran out on me, but he all but adopted this other girl, a cute kid, really, but I just… I only stayed there a couple of weeks. It didn't work out, you know? I couldn't stop seeing him as the asshole who didn't care enough to stay and he couldn't look past the fact that I was a failure."

"You're not a failure," Rory countered.

"I've accomplished next to nothing, Rory. The only thing I do half-decently is take care of Annie."

"You take care of me," she argued.

"I hurt you," he replied. "And I don't know how not to hurt you and Annie. I don't want to be Jimmy."

"You won't be, Jess." Rory brushed her hand to his cheek. "Sad boy," she whispered. "When we were kids, I touched you like this and you ran."

He nodded.

"You didn't want to tell me what was wrong," she continued. "And all I wanted was to make things better for you."

"I didn't mean to push you, back then," Jess apologized. "I just… I couldn't deal with any of it, I couldn't tell you just how much it wasn't your fault. You asked me if I was bored with you, if you'd done something. And I just…"

"I know."

"I couldn't face you after that."

"You're facing me now."

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"I'm sorry," she replied.

"Well, aren't we a sorry couple," Jess quipped.

Rory shook her head with a smile. She leaned in and brushed his lips softly with hers. "Back then I told my mom that I thought you and I… that I thought you were going to be my first. But then you weren't and I screwed up so badly, you don't even want to know how bad… and the thing I always regretted was that I wasn't true to that feeling."

"I never expected you to wait for me, Rory," he said, kissing her forehead.

"I know." She watched him closely. "I slept with Dean," she added, biting her lip.

"Does this fall into the category of something no one else knows?" Jess asked, somberly, as his fingers played with the short hair behind her ears.

Rory shook her head. "More like the category of something the entire town knows," she sighed. "He was already married then."

Jess nodded slowly. "I kind of knew."

"How?" Rory asked.

"He told me," Jess explained. "Not long after I got here… he was bitter and he just… blurted it out." Rory looked away, but Jess brought her eyes back to his. "No shame, Rory. No regrets. It's done now. Making mistakes is part of who we are."

"I wish…" she started, but Jess's mouth stopped her.

"No," he said. He took her hands in his. "I wasn't your first. You weren't my first. But maybe things will work out well enough so we'll be each other's lasts?"

"I would like that," Rory said, leaning in to kiss him.

"So would I."

She bit down on her lower lip. "I must stink."

"Just a little."

Rory punched him in the arm. "Hey."

"I'm kidding," he said, pulling her closer by the waist. "I want to be here, Ror," he whispered, kissing her. Softly his tongue snaked out to trace her lower lip. She opened her mouth, allowing him access. Tongues touching, dueling, softly.

She closed her eyes and sighed into his mouth. She backed away a little. "Make love to me," she whispered, her eyes searching his.

He nodded, breath rushing out of him.

The night before things had been rushed, urgent. Sex had been an intense way to punctuate their new agreement.

But now it was deliciously slow. He took his time with her clothes, she with his. Everything took forever and it was better this way.

"You realize that we haven't worked in the last eighteen hours?" Jess asked between kisses.

Rory nodded. "We'll work late. Do inventory this weekend. Whatever," she replied, as he slowly entered her. Rory moaned, her eyes closing.

"Eyes open," he ordered.

She bit her lower lip and did as he told her.

They looked into each other's eyes. There was something akin to truth in their closeness. She watched him, he watched her. He touched her, she touched him.

He set their rhythm, slow and tortuous and perfect. When things got too intense, when Rory couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, Jess kissed her eyelids, her forehead, her cheeks, her chin, her mouth.

Their tongues mimicked the movement of their bodies and slowly they reached a peak. Jess swallowed her cries, they were his own, their lips and teeth clashing and their breath heavy.

No words.

He kissed her forehead, her face, as she drifted off to heavy sleep beneath him.

He rolled off to the side, just a little, to keep his weight off her, but she clung to his waist, pulling him back on top of her body. "You're not heavy," she murmured sleepily. "Stay."

He nodded, attempting to fight off drowsiness so that he could watch her sleep.

- - - - - - - - - -

An hour later Jess drifted back from sleep. Sticky with sweat, they had somehow managed to push the sheet to the floor and they had been sleeping, naked, surrounded by their strewn clothes.

"Rory," he whispered, shifting his weight. "Rory, wake up."

"Noooooo," she groaned, almost to herself.

"Come on, Ror. It's noon. You must be hungry," he countered.

Rory opened his eyes and pouted. "Now, that's just mean. You don't mention food. You know food always wins."

"Yes, I do."

"You have to shower, I have to shower, if we don't get a move on, we'll be having dinner not lunch," he said, pulling on his boxers.

"Hmm…" she complained.

Jess hunted around for her underwear, which lay discarded on the coffee table. "Come on, we need to get you dressed," he said.

Her eyes opened to slits, as she watched him with curiosity. "You gonna dress me?"

His mouth went dry. "Rory…" he warned. But she just showed him her foot. Jess shook his head and carefully he had her almost step into her panties. He glided them up her legs, her thighs. She raised her hips off the couch and he secured her panties to her hips.

He could see her eyes glazed over, her tongue snaking out as she caught her breath.

"I don't think this is such a good idea," Jess offered.

"I think it's a great idea," Rory countered.

Jess found her blouse somewhere in the vicinity of the lamp. "No bra?" he asked.

"It must be somewhere…" Rory volunteered. "But I can do without."

Jess helped her into the sleeves of the blouse and slowly buttoned it up, button by button. Rory noticed him growing hard as he placed one button after the other in its proper place, his fingers brushing against her skin, his mind knowing that she would be naked under the blouse. Her hand reached out to touch him through his boxers and he took in a shaky breath.

"Rory…"

He didn't know exactly how it happened but suddenly she was on top of him, kissing her way down his torso, pulling at his boxers. When his hand reached for her blouse she swatted it away. Playfully, she looked up into his eyes. "Don't want to undo all your good work," she quipped, her tongue dipping into his navel.

His boxers were off so fast he almost wondered if it had really happened. Her breath on him, he was harder than he'd ever been, or at least it felt that way.

And then, her mouth.

Her mouth.

Her tongue, snaking, licking. He threaded his fingers through her short hair and tried to hold back. She was doing things he'd only seen her do in his dreams, and it was driving him insane. "Rory…" he moaned. She increased pressure. He could hardly catch his breath. "Rory, please…"

He thrust involuntarily and he could her a moan at the back of her throat. It almost did him in.

"Rory, stop," he said, almost conquered.

She did, looking up at him, confused. "You don't have to…" he started, but Rory shushed him.

Wicked woman, her breath hit him like a ton of bricks. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. "Jess, I want to… hey… eyes open," she ordered. Then, just before taking him in her mouth again, she smiled. "I like finishing what I start."

- - - - - - - -

"I hate you," Jess said, defeated. He was still shivering from the aftermath as Rory climbed back up his body, almost catlike, licking his nipple. "You're evil."

"Huh," Rory countered.

"Yeah," he said, pressing a hand against his forehead.

She leaned in to kiss him, smiling. "Being evil has perks."

"Now I really need a shower," Jess replied.

"If you're gonna complain, I'm going to think I did something wrong, and then…"

"You did everything right," he replied, smiling. "Just took me by surprise, is all."

"Come on, we gotta get dressed, now," she said, smiling. "Now I'm really hungry."

"I'm not actually sure I can walk," Jess countered, getting dressed.

Rory just laughed.

- - - - - - - - - -

They met at the diner an hour later, showered and dressed and… almost new.

Annie, who had gotten bored of following Luke around, was playing Go Fish with Lorelai.

Lorelai caught the blushing interaction between Jess and Rory as her daughter walked in. There was almost an imaginary line drawn between them. Absentmindedly, Rory walked up to the counter and, without any warning, leaned in to kiss Jess.

Jess seemed taken aback, completely caught off guard.

So did a good part of Stars Hollow's population.

Silence.

Forks stopped forking, knives stopped cutting, people stopped chewing and swallowing.

Was that…?

Did that…?

It couldn't be, could it?

Annie, however, seemed unfazed. "Lorelai… I said Go Fish…"

The sounds of the diner took over once again with the sound of Annie's voice. Rory blushed and backed away, Jess stood perfectly still. Frozen in place.

"Oops," Rory whispered, cringing.

"I'll… get your… burger, fries… Cesar!" Jess said, backing into the blender. He turned to the kitchen.

Rory shrugged. She sat beside Annie and Lorelai and watched them as they kept at their game.

"Dirty," Lorelai said, softly, leaning over and elbowing Rory.

"Mom," Rory whispered-screamed.

"I'm just saying, I'm so proud of you…" Lorelai added, winking.

"Go fish!" Annie interrupted.

Rory placed her forehead on the tabletop and sighed.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Deja vu," Luke joked as he entered the storeroom and found Jess leaning against the wall.

"I used to be cool," Jess muttered, taking a deep breath before walking back out to the diner. "I used to be cool."

"Yeah, we all did," Luke volunteered, grabbing a big jar of pickles and following his nephew back out into the diner.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Jess and Rory finished their lunch in companionable silence. Lorelai kept looking at their guilty faces and smiling to herself, as she and Annie exchanged cards.

The diner emptying out and Lorelai's lunch break was over. She said her goodbyes with a flourish, even managing to ruffle Jess's hair on the way out.

"Sorry," Rory whispered, picking up the deck of cards and shuffling them, as to take over Lorelai's place in the game.

Jess shrugged. "I want to be cremated, and you and Annie get to share my books, but my music collection is hers."

"You exaggerate," Rory said, taking a sip of her cherry cola.

"You just wait. Taylor will be over here with a minister and concerned citizens waving flags at me in no time," Jess countered.

"Ah, but was it worth it?" Rory inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Very," Jess concluded, leaning in to kiss her, faking a confidence he'd lost long ago.

"Ew…" Annie complained. "Stop kissing and let's play!"

- - - - - - - - - -

The day passed with relatively little activity. Jess collected the books he needed to read through from the bookstore, and decided it was better to do the actual reading away from Rory. Rory, in turn, decided to go back to the Crapshack to get her mind organized again.

Proximity was intoxicating, and they needed just a little detox.

Rory knew that they would sooner or later settle into some sort of routine that would prove to be less dangerous for their occupations. But now everything was so new that they distracted each other terribly.

She knew he would need space to digest everything, their new openness in front of the entire town, which she'd never meant to force upon him…

They parted at the bookstore after lunch and she promised to call.

She did.

"How's the reading?" she asked, as soon as he picked up the phone.

"Informative. Boring."

Rory smiled. "Think of it as literary research."

"Not helping," Jess sighed. "Plus I keep wondering about the front page of the Stars Hollow Gazette this week."

"Jess…" she started. "It shouldn't matter. As long as we're ok with it…"

"It's just… the ever-watchful eyes… basis of the arm-chewing," he concluded, shrugging it off. "I think I've decided, about Annie," Jess added, changing the subject.

"So…"

"I think she'll be better off skipping first grade. Plus, she'll have some insta-friends. The twins will be there…" Jess explained. "I'd just hate for her to have to sit through classes that bore her or don't stimulate her."

Rory smiled to herself. "School was like that for you, wasn't it?" she asked.

"Sometimes," he admitted. "Plus, teachers expected so little of me, it was just so much easier to prove them right…"

Rory changed the subject, sensing it was still a sensitive topic. "So, are you working on the house this weekend?"

"Yeah, it needs to be done."

"Do you want me to watch Annie?"

Jess paused for a second. "I feel like I'm taking advantage of you. I'm not working at the bookstore, you take care of the kid all the time, I…"

"Jess, I like watching her. I used to be scared of kids, but she's cool," Rory countered. "And you'll start as my bookstore slave soon enough, so quit worrying. Sleep. Construction workers need their nine hours. Don't want you falling off the roof, ok?"

Jess smiled into the phone. "Yes, ma'am."

- - - - - - - - - -

The phone rang in the middle of the night.

That was never a good sign, Jess knew, stirring out of sleep slowly. But Luke got to the phone first. He answered brusquely, but it was completely justified. He was, after all, being awakened at 3 am.

Jess shifted on the couch, in preparation of whatever the news would be. Maybe one of Lorelai's crazy emergencies, maybe something to do with April.

"What?" Luke asked. "When?"

Silence.

"Where?" he asked, bracing himself on the couch.

Silence.

"We'll be there," he added.

The inclusion in the phrase made Jess sit up straight. He looked up at his uncle in the darkness and he could see the concern on Luke's face.

Luke hung up the receiver slowly.

Then he threw the phone up against the wall.

And Jess just… knew.

Liz.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rory's cell phone rang in the middle of the night.

It took her a second to pull away from her dream, a moment to find her phone on her bedside table.

"Yeah?" she answered, not bothering to look at the number.

Silence. The distant sound of car horns and wooshing cars in the background told her the call was coming from the road.

She opened her eyes slowly. "Jess, is that you?"

Silence. She knew it was him.

"Are you ok?"

"Liz is in the hospital," he said, slowly.

Rory sat up, taking a deep breath. "What hospital?"

"Mercy."

"Annie?"

"Luke's pickup. We're on our way."

"I'll be there, ok? I'll get dressed and go now. Just… "

"Ok," Jess replied, understanding.

"Ok," Rory answered.

Dial tone.

Oh, God.

Rory ran upstairs to wake her mother.

**TBC…**

**Author's note: Cliffhanger. Longer time between chapters. I deeply apologize. Out-of-net life is kicking my behind with great force. Next chapter should be up in a week or two. I'm sorry. Also been working on a couple other stories, what could possibly turn into a chapter fic that I'll begin posting now, called We are the subsect. I really am sorry for leaving you hanging for so long. I don't plan on abandoning this, but it will take me a little longer to post. I hope the chapter makes up for the absence of chapters in a nearby future.**

**Besides all the apologies, I wanted to thank everyone who's been reading and reviewing my stories, both The Kid and my one-shots. Feedback is life.  
**

**di **


	24. What the silence means

**Author's note: **I've re-writen this chapter 15000 times... I hope it lives up to the expectation. Thank you for sticking with this (maze, please tell me you kept your job!)

**Chapter 23: What the silence means…**

The hospital was cold and white and the light from the ceilings buzzed a little.

Annie drifted in and out of sleep on Jess's arms, which now felt numbed by her weight.

The doctors spoke ancient Aramaic. Something about pumping her stomach, that he'd understood.

 Something about an overdose, that much was clear.

Something about lack of consciousness, well, that could almost describe him.

He was floating through it all, slowly, not existing, not breathing… just… floating.

Something about having to wait to see her. Getting her cleaned up. That was clear.

The amount of things that were clear did nothing to halt the impression that he understood nothing.

The nurse's mouth opened and closed. The doctor's mouth opened and closed. Everyone's mouths opened and closed.

He would wait until they could see her before waking Annie up. Just a little longer.

He carried her, she was heavy, he was numb.

He'd been pacing for hours, or so it seemed.

Luke kept filling out forms.

His pen moved back and forth and back again. One page after another.

Whenever a nurse came by to open and shut her mouth, his pen would stop. And Jess would stop pacing. And Annie would open her eyes just a little bit, before drifting to sleep again.

It was Lorelai that entered the waiting area first, rushing to Luke's side, asking, pacing, worrying.

Rory followed a few minutes later, apologizing about having to park the car.

Jess took one look at her and he could feel Annie's weight start to push down on his arms. He felt for the first time that night that he might drop her, that he might not be able to hold her long enough, tight enough.

"I can take her for a little while," Rory said, reaching her arms out to Jess. He couldn't speak, or at least that's what it felt like. He just nodded. Slowly he transferred Annie from his arms to Rory's, then led Rory to the chairs.

For now, at least, he didn't have to be strong enough for two.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Rory stroked Annie's long reddish hair in silence. Lorelai had gone to get coffee because it was all she could think to offer. It kept the feet busy, it kept the mouth busy.

Jess and Luke had moved to the side, then to the countertop where the reception area was. Then they started stalking doctors for news, then nurses, then doctors again.

Rory looked at Jess but couldn't get him to look back. She wanted to touch him, to reassure him. She wanted to make everything alright for him, but she knew that it wouldn't be possible.

So she stroked Annie's hair and tried to keep her from waking, to keep her oblivious to the hell around her.

He walked back to her side, slowly, his outreached hands offering to take Annie from her, but Rory shrugged. She could hardly help any other way.

"What do they say?" Rory asked.

Jess shrugged. "Not much. That they have to finish up before we can see her, that she wasn't breathing for a while and now she is."

"Jess," she said, because she couldn't say anything else. She couldn't cry now, even though she could feel his pain coursing through her… she needed to be strong for him. She had to take this burden for him.

He shook his head. He wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere, the bookstore, Luke's, the bridge, anyplace.

"I think I might have done this," he said, faintly. "She was sort of holding it together, and I just took Annie away. I know I had to… but maybe…"

Rory reached out and took his hand and squeezed it as hard as she could. "You don't go there, Jess. You don't. You did what you had to and you don't go back and question it. Not tonight," Rory said, a whisper.

He didn't let go of her hand for another two hours.

That was when the doctor came.

"You can see her now," the doctor told Luke and Jess. Rory held onto Annie and motioned for Jess to go ahead. Jess nodded, relieved she had understood his intentions. He didn't want Annie to see Liz like this, not yet.

Rory and Lorelai watched as Jess and Luke disappeared behind the white double doors.

- - - - - - - - - -

She was sleeping. Or that was what it looked like, anyways.

The doctor muttered that she was fine, no apparent brain damage, needed to rest.

Jess wanted to strangle him.

No.

He wanted to wake Liz up and then strangle her.

He wanted to wake Liz up.

He waited until the doctor was out of the white room with green light and metallic chairs before kicking over the trashcan.

"Jess," Luke warned.

Jess shook his head. "She did the exact opposite of what she was supposed to do." He took a deep breath. "She's supposed to want Annie back."

"She does," Luke replied. "I'm sure that…"

"Deep down she really wants to do things right?" Jess asked, sarcastically. "Come on, she's the master of giving up her responsibilities."

He punched the wall, which refused to cave in.

"Jess…" his uncle pleaded, but Jess shook it off.

"I can't deal with her right now, while she sleeps," Jess said. "Call me when she's awake and we can yell at each other, ok?"

- - - - - - - - - - -

He'd managed to find a place selling cigarettes around the corner from the hospital. He'd pushed the money into the vendor's hand, his own knuckles bruised, not even bothering to get the change.

The cellophane hit the ground before he crossed the street, and he fumbled around searching for a nonexistent lighter in his pockets.

Nothing.

He stuck the cigarette between his lips anyway.

Placebo effect.

The night was sticky with heat, the air clinging to his breath as he took each step back to the hospital.   Rory was waiting by the door when he stepped up to it.

He took the cigarette out of his mouth as he approached. "Annie?"

"Still asleep. Luke took her so I could stretch my legs," Rory answered.

Jess nodded.

"You gonna smoke that?" Rory asked.

"Depends," Jess replied. He couldn't smile at the memory this conversation brought back. Everything was too hard.

"What on?"

"Whether or not I find a light."

Rory stuck her hands in the pockets of her light jacket. "The Jeep has a lighter," she pointed out. At another time she would have chewed him out. But it wasn't the time.

"Lead the way."

- - - - - - - - - -

Rory turned the key in the ignition and pushed in the lighter button. Impatiently, Jess twirled the cigarette between his fingers.

"What did the doctor say?" Rory asked, leaning against the side of the Jeep.

Jess shrugged. "Not much. Nothing new. She'll get better, do it again. Doctor suggested rehab. Hasn't helped before."

"How many times has she gone into rehab?"

"I used to be able to get her to go once or twice a year. Got her into NA and AA, too. Doesn't work, because she doesn't want it to."

The lighter popped. Rory sighed softly, leaning into the car to take the knob. She held the lighter out to Jess.

Jess breathed in a fresh puff of smoke, allowed it to fill his lungs. It was only calming because it was destructive.

Rory didn't even flinch. Didn't lecture either.

"So what now?" she asked, closing the car door behind her.

"I guess I put her in rehab again," he answered. "See how long it sticks… She usually leaves after a week, promises she'll get better, promises never to do it again." His voice was shaky, his fingers could hardly hold the cigarette right. "Dammit, Liz."

"Was it like this? When you were growing up?" Rory asked, her eyes on the pavement.

Jess nodded. "She left me with this babysitter once… then didn't come back until after a couple of days had gone by. That time Luke stuck her in rehab. He stayed with me for a month or so, she got better, everything was dandy. Then it would happen again." He shook his head, angry. "She's supposed to want to get better, Ror. Instead, she just gets worse." Jess flicked the cigarette butt unto the ground, exhaling smoke one last time. "We should get back. Annie'll wake up soon and I have to think of how to tell her."

Rory nodded, taking Jess's hand as she walked back into the hospital.

- - - - - - - - - -

The tubes were out, and for that Jess was grateful. Liz was still sleeping, and he told Annie to be quiet and not wake her.

Lying there, eyes closed, all cleaned up, she almost looked normal. Like a regular, sleeping mother.

Annie went up to her and squeezed her hand. She shifted, still deep in sleep. It had been uppers this time, accidental overdose, so they'd pumped her stomach, then sedated her. She wouldn't wake up for another couple of hours.

Annie let go of Liz's hand and walked back to Jess. "I want to go now," she said. Jess nodded. Annie hadn't seen Liz like this before, and if he had anything to say about it, she wouldn't see her like this again.

_End of the road, Liz_, he would say. _Make a choice._

Or at least it was what he wanted to say.

He walked hand in hand with Annie, back into the waiting room. "She's not getting better," Annie pointed out.

"No. She's not."

"Can we help her?"

"This is something she has to do by herself. We can try to help her, but in the end she has to… get better on her own."

Annie nodded. "She can't come home with us," she stated, understanding.

"No," Jess firmly replied.

Tears slid down Annie's cheeks. "Can we visit her?"

Jess nodded. "I can't promise that," he said, squeezing Annie's hand tighter. "But we can try."

- - - - - - - - - - -

Rory had been doing research.

It was all she could do to not go insane while Annie and Jess were inside Liz's room.

 She talked to the nurses. Then a couple of doctors. Tailed a social worker.

Made five phone calls.

And so she'd found at least three rehab centers within a half-hour drive of Stars Hollow.

She was ready to present this to Jess as soon as he came out of that room, only charts and graphs missing. She would help him reason it out. She would help him. She was ready to show him she could help him.

What she wasn't ready for was a teary-eyed six-year-old running towards her. She wasn't ready for the aforementioned six-year-old to ask to be picked up by Rory's tired arms.

 She wasn't ready for the little girl crying at the crook of her shoulder, and it took all of her inventive to hold her close, and soothe her. It took all her strength not to cry right along with her.

And that was when Rory knew that while she wasn't ready for any of it, she was falling in love with the teary-eyed six-year-old in her arms.

That was when Rory knew she was in trouble.

Panic-stricken, she looked over to Jess, who was standing so close to them that she could almost breathe him in.

And all he could do was give her a heavy shrug.

- - - - - - - - - -

They had gone out to the Jeep so Annie could get a couple of books Rory had thought to bring along. Annie wasn't planning on sleeping during the day, that much was clear by her quick thank you, and her settling into the backseat to read.

Luke had told Jess he'd go find him when Liz woke up, so Jess climbed into the driver's seat of the Jeep and Rory on the passenger's side.

It wasn't sunny out, so the car wasn't overheated by the summer. It was cool inside, with the doors open, but still humid. Rory wordlessly settled into her seat, and five minutes later she was asleep.

He watched her.

She had slipped him a paper full of phone numbers and recommendations of rehab centers. She had organized them by distance from Stars Hollow, written small pro-con lists beside them in tiny handwriting that would fit her small planner pages.

He felt guilty. This shouldn't be her life.

He had seen the panic in her eyes as Annie cried on her shoulder.

He had seen the sorrow in her eyes as he told her about his childhood, about Liz screwing up, about his inability to make things better.

He watched as little beads of sweat accumulated above her top lip.

He felt like running again.

He felt like taking the kid and leaving everything behind, Liz, Luke, all ties.

But he couldn't, and not just because Annie was already attached to them.

As hard as it was to admit it, Jess was falling in love with Stars Hollow. Not a live-here-all-my-life love, but love. Hell, he was even attached to Kirk, in some odd way.

And he was definitely, no doubt about it, attached to Rory.

Rory's eyelids fluttered open, and in a hazy sort of panic, she shot up in the car seat. "I fell asleep," she said, looking around her, confused.

"It's ok," Jess soothed her. Annie had fallen asleep in the backseat as well, and he looked into the backseat to make sure she was still asleep. She was.

Sleepily, Rory settled back into the carseat, and stretched.

Silently, Jess and Rory tried not to stare at each other.

- - - - - - - - -

Liz's room was a controlled environment, Rory thought, as she watched Jess swing the door open and then closed. Air conditioned, white, aseptic.

Jess had tensed his arms, his hands balled into fists, because he didn't know how to deal with Liz anymore.

Rory felt oddly proud of knowing what exactly Jess was feeling.

At the same time, oddly ashamed of herself for thinking like that at this time.

Standing outside the door holding Annie's hand, they could both hear the exchange, voices rising, anger escalating.

Rory looked down at Annie. Annie looked up at Rory.

Without a word, they took the corridor to the left, headed for the cafeteria.

- - - - - - - -

"What's the excuse now, Liz?" Jess asked, his voice filled with resentment. "No kids to plague you, nothing to bug you, no noise, no one getting in your way. But that doesn't make you happy either."

Liz sat on the bed, hugging her knees to her chest.

Something in the way she sat made Jess pause.

"Since TJ…" she started, but Jess shook his head.

"TJ's gone. Been gone a long time, Liz. The best way to honor what you two had would be to take care of Annie. Instead you… regressed into fucking irresponsibility. TJ loved that kid. Maybe you should try that, too."

"You don't get to tell me how to take care of her," Liz said, pointing a finger at Jess. "You're just a kid, a high-school dropout."

"At least I try."

"I'm her mother."

"Then act like one. You've been my mother for twenty-seven years, Liz. Now's as good a time as any to start acting like a mother."

"Fuck you."

"Mature."

Liz grabbed the plastic cup on the food tray beside her and threw it at Jess. "Get out."

"You're going into rehab. You're going into rehab fifteen minutes from Stars Hollow."

"Like hell I am."

"You are if you feel like seeing Annie again. Because I'm not going to leave her to deal with your crap, not now, and not ten years from now when you decide to show up and do what you're supposed to," Jess finished, opening the door to leave. "I'll tell Luke to start the paperwork."

Liz wiped her nose with the back of her arm. "I'm not Jimmy," she said, softly.

Jess shook his head. "Prove it," he finished, slamming the door behind him.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Lorelai watched quietly as Luke paced and Jess yelled, Jess paced and Luke yelled. She could make out a few words.

Rehab. Stars Hollow. Deal with her. Liz. Fuck.

She grasped the basics.

She worried.

She worried about Luke, of course. And of what Liz's re-emergence meant to Jess and Annie.

But most of all, she worried about her own daughter's frailty and her weary eyes and her tired smile. She worried about her on-hold job and her tendency to fall for the same bad boy over and over again.

She worried because Rory always acted as if everything was alright, even when the world was crumbling around her.

Lorelai worried because she suspected this would be one more occasion when Rory would get slighted.

And, of course, Lorelai worried because a mother worries. A mother worries when her daughter walks hand in hand with a child that is not her own, when her daughter has left her job and has bought a bookstore and is shacking up with a guy who never graduated high school. A mother worries when her daughter gives up her dreams. And as Rory approached, Lorelai had never felt such a need to intervene.

Rory walked up to Lorelai, Annie trailing close behind. Jess caught a glimpse of Annie through the glass and lowered his voice. Luke shook his head, then stalked over to the nurses's station, followed by Jess.

"How nineteenth-century. The men tend to the problems, the women tend to the food and children," Lorelai pointed out, smiling through her teeth. Rory handed her a sandwich.

"Egg salad was all they had," Rory answered, ignoring her mother's sarcasm.

"Yum."

"Yeah."

Annie tugged on her shoelaces, staring at the space behind the glass that her brother and uncle had just vacated.

"How does this play out in your head, kid?" Lorelai asked Rory, bringing a paper-cup of coffee to her lips. "Like a fairy tale? Do you rescue the king and earn the princess' hand in marriage?"

Rory's mouth opened, then closed. She shook her head. "Mom, of all the times when you've said inappropriate things, I never thought I'd hear you say something so hurtful."

"But it's true, kid," Lorelai replied. "This isn't your cross to bear, your fish to fry, whatever you want to call it. This is something he needs to deal with. You can't be a prince, and you can't play the mommy here."

Rory felt tears rising to her eyes, but she took a deep breath. "But I can be Rory," she answered, forcing herself into calm. "If you ever want to know who that is, I'll be around. My things will be out of your way tonight."

"Rory, come on…" Lorelai said.

"No, Mom," Rory stopped her, standing up. "If this is all a mistake, it's my mistake to make. You rushed over here because of Luke. I rushed over here because of Jess. Why is it so different?"

"He has a kid," Lorelai whispered.

"So did you," Rory spat back. "And Luke never loved you any less, and he was always good to me. So tell me, please, why am I an idiot for believing it could work out?"

"It's Jess," Lorelai replied, defeated.

Rory smiled sadly. "Yes. Yes it is." Rory grabbed her purse again and extended her hand towards Annie. "Come on, Annie, let's go outside to wait for your brother. We can play hopscotch." Rory handed Lorelai the keys to the jeep.

Annie nodded, taking Rory's hand. "Bye, Lorelai."

Lorelai watched her daughter go, all short hair and adulthood, and she knew.

Lorelai Gilmore knew.

She had just turned into Emily Gilmore.

**TBC...**

**Author's note: ** I apologize profusely for leaving this story unattended for such a long time. Work has been kicking my butt. But I'm not dropping this story, I swear. And I thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Please, tell me what you think about all this...


	25. Growing pains

**Author's note:**

**Hey! First of all, my deepest apologies. Second of all, thank you for sticking with this. I finally have some time for the fic world (yey!). I have another pretty involving job lined up for january, so hopefully I'll get all my fics wrapped up before then, so I won't be leaving you hanging for so long.**

**So tell me what you think, tell me what you love, tell me what you hate, tell me what you want.**

**And thanks again for reading!**

**CHAPTER 24: Growing pains**

Jess noticed the tension had built itself up when he stepped onto the waiting room and found Lorelai sniffling, her eyes reddened.

His suspicions were confirmed when he found Rory wiping her eyes with the back of her wrist as Annie hopped on the sidewalk.

Jess was amazed by the speed with which kids bounced back, and the short amount of time it took for adults to hurt one another.

"You ok?" Jess asked.

Rory shrugged. "I should be asking you that."

"You already know I'm not."

"And you don't know how I am?"

"Touché." Jess ruffled Annie's hair and stepped aside as she jumped all the way to the start. Rory took her turn and tossed her pebble to the sidewalk. "Luke said he'd stay overnight, take Liz to the clinic in the morning. He gave me the keys to the pickup."

"I have to get some stuff from my mom's house… I'm moving camp tonight," Rory said as she hopped onto the squares that were free. Jess looked at her, questioning, but she just hopped along.

"We can help out, can't we, Annie?" Jess asked, as Rory hopped back to the start.

Annie shook her head at Jess, all scowls. "You're stepping on my square."

Rory chuckled lightly. "Either play or get outta the way, Jess!"

Jess rolled his eyes at them.

- - - - - - - - - -

He waited in the pickup while she got her things.

Jess was fully aware that Rory was at odds with Lorelai. It was the kind of thing that he could sense coming off her in waves. It was always an undercurrent in their relationship, Lorelai's disapproval, and Rory had always dealt with it quietly, with some sort of dignified strength that Jess had never learned.

But something Lorelai had said must have hit too close to home, and Rory had snapped, and Jess could bet things were said that neither of them meant.

All this he knew from watching her move in her seat, from the way she approached the truck, a duffel in hand.

She swung the bag into the backseat and got into the truck again. Jess asked nothing, and for this Rory was grateful.

She had no answers, none that were good enough.

She had stood in her room, surrounded by clothes and plastic ponies, and she had tried hard not to cry.

She thought that maybe this was her real entrance into adulthood.

That this precise instant, leaving her childhood home behind, her decisions questioned, her convictions unwavering, this was it.

She was finally Rory Gilmore, the woman.

And Rory Gilmore, the woman, played itsy-bitsy-spider with Annie.

- - - - - - - - - -

"I screwed up," Lorelai said, her hands on the steering wheel, headed to the hotel.

Luke shrugged. "Liz screwed up. You just made a mistake."

"A screwy mistake." Lorelai made a wrong turn.

Luke checked his seatbelt. "He's good, Lore. As hard as it is for you to admit it, he's good, and he's good for her."

Lorelai shook her head. "A kid, Luke. He has a kid, for all intents and purposes, and that's a lifetime commitment that's his now, not hers."

"Rory was your lifetime commitment. April's mine. We don't always choose when they come. Doesn't mean life is worse for their being here."

Lorelai honked at the car in front of her and sniffled. "I don't want her to look back with regret…"

"Do you regret her?"

"Of course not! How can you even ask that?"

Luke laughed to himself a bit, and reached out to tuck a strand of Lorelai's hair behind her ear. "You can't protect her from regret. And you can't stop her from doing what she will. She's a Gilmore, isn't she?"

"Yes, but…"

"Rory will be fine. And if she chooses, she'll be fine with Jess. You can't change who she's become… You can only… let her figure things out on her own."

"When did you get so smart?" Lorelai asked as the traffic inched along.

"Lots of Rory's books lying around your house. They had to be good for something."

- - - - - - - - - -

Annie tucked in and asleep?

Check.

Jess tired and cranky?

Check.

Rory tired and sad?

Check.

No bed?

Check.

Huh.

"I think I'll walk over to the bookstore, sleep upstairs," Rory started, going for her duffel. What had she been thinking? She wondered what she had expected. She wasn't entirely sure.

"You don't have to."

"Really, it's fine, it's…"

"Dusty, and sleeping on a mattress Kirk picked out is creepy and…"

"I'll be fine…"

"Stay."

There. He'd said it.

They were still tiptoeing around each other. Still.

"I fought with my mom. She…" Rory started, plopping down on the couch.

"Said things she didn't mean, I'm sure," Jess finished.

"Probably. They hurt just as much as if she'd meant them, though."

Jess sighed, and took a seat next to her. "Was it about me?"

"More or less. You, me. Liz. Annie. You. Me."

"Huh."

"Yeah."

"So what do you think? About what she said?"

Rory laughed, resting the back of her head on the couch and staring at the ceiling. "That she's both right and full of crap."

"Care to elaborate?"

Rory scooted over to Jess and rested her head on his shoulder. "Nothing that we haven't talked about. Just…" Rory paused, pondering how to say what she was about to say. "Today I noticed that it's not just that Annie's growing attached to me, it's that I'm growing attached to her."

"That's bad?" Jess asked.

Rory shook her head. "It's not that. It's… Annie has a mother, and a brother. That's Liz and you. And she has a functioning parent, that's you as well. I don't quite see where I fit in this… if I fit in this… if I should even be around trying to fit in this."

"You've thought about this a lot."

"Yes. I know I should have been thinking of more productive things and that you've got other things on your mind, what with Liz and all, but it's just been turning in my mind…"

Jess kissed Rory's forehead. "Liz is Annie's mother, but she hasn't acted like a mother in a long time. And I'm the kid's functioning parental figure, I guess that's as close to a definition as I'll get. And you… You're her Rory. What that will end up meaning is up to her and you and time."

"I…" Rory started. There was more she wanted to say, but she really couldn't get it out. "She's a good kid."

"She is."

Rory decided it was time to change the subject. "So which center is Liz moving to?" Rory asked.

"Sunny Brook," Jess said, sighing into her hair. "I hate the names these places have. Like they should be country inns or retirement homes."

"I think it's good you picked somewhere close. You can visit. Annie can visit. It'll be good for Liz… I think."

Jess tensed up. "Frankly, I don't feel like visiting her all that much."

"Jess…"

"Not saying I'm not going to go. I'll go," Jess said. "Just talking about Liz makes me want to smoke." He stood up, frustrated.

"Hey…" she said, touching her fingers to his arm.

"I said I'd go," he replied sternly. "I need to... get some air… Can you watch her?"

Rory nodded, letting go of his arm. He grabbed his jacket and left.

- - - - - - - -

Cigarette after goddam cigarette, watching the diner window, the lights dimmed.

Rory paced, crossing the window once, twice, fifteen times.

Jess crushed his last cigarette and walked back into the diner again.

- - - - - - - - -

Rory was still pacing when he came back.

She was hurt. He could tell.

But she knew he needed those fifteen minutes she'd given him.

And she knew he'd been across the street, watching over them.

"I'm tired," she said, softly echoing his own thoughts.

He could feel his eyelids grow heavy under her admission.

"Let's go to bed," he replied, holding his hand out to hers.

She took it.

- - - - - - - - -

They kicked their shoes off and climbed into Luke's bed, clumsy bodies heavy with sleep.

He pulled her towards him, his arms around her waist, his nose buried in her neck.

"The yelling and the anger and the hurt I can handle," Rory said softly, stifling a yawn against her pillow. "It's the running that makes me nervous."

"I came back."

"You always do."

"I'm not that guy anymore, Rory. I don't leave anymore. Sometimes I want to, but I stay…"

"I know," Rory said, turning to face him. In the dark, with his two nights worth of stubble and worry, he looked much older. "I guess I'll always be a little scared."

"Always?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, glad to take the comedic out.

"Shut up."

"Sleep."

"Hold me?" she asked, almost childishly.

He was already holding her, cradling her close. Still, he nodded, lacing her fingers with his.

- - - - - - - - - -

He woke up all tangled and uncomfortable. It was almost dawn, he could tell by the smell of the dew on the trees outside.

This was the one thing he liked about the town itself. The smell of morning dew. But Rory was sleeping on top of his arm and it was cramping.

"Ror," he whispered.

Her eyelashes seemed sticky with unspent tears and her eyes refused to open. He slowly disengaged his arm from under her and she felt unsettled at the loss of his proximity. Her eyelids fluttered open. "Hey," she whispered, sleepily. Stretching.

"My arm..." Jess started.

"Oh, sorry about that," she said, her voice heavy. She stretched her arms upwards, her belly pressing against him.

"'S ok," he replied, the breath rushing out of him. In the faint light of daybreak, he could see the skin exposed by her t-shirt. For a second, it didn't matter whether or not they had showered and changed clothes in the last 48 hours (they had not) or wether they smelled (they did).

They mattered. He showed her that much as he pressed his lips against hers, all force and abrupt breathing.

His hand ventured under her t-shirt, and she gasped at the skin-to-skin contact.

"Jess," she hissed out.

He backed away for half a second. "Got carried away," he admitted, pressing his forehead against hers. "Sorry."

With closed eyes they both took deep breaths.

She nodded heavily, pressing her lips together, savoring the moment. "You wake me up at 4 am, you better not be sorry."

"Five-thirty." he corrected.

Rory shrugged. "If I tell you something you have to promise you won't freak out."

"I can't promise that."

"Jess..."

"Fine, I promise I won't freak out."

"Pinky swear," Rory insisted.

"Five thirty-two am," Jess countered.

"Fine," she conceded. "You're no fun."

"Tick-tock," Jess said, smiling.

"I love you."

Silence.

"Huh."

"I knew you would freak out."

"No, it's just..."

"I'm not saying it to hear it back from you, I'm actually saying it back I guess, because you were brave enough to tell me so many years ago and maybe you don't feel the same way anymore, but I'm saying it because it's true with all it's addendums and with Annie... I'm getting there. I mean, I'm crazy about that kid, but I don't know how to put a label on that yet, but I know that I love you... I'm rambling, aren't I?"

Jess nodded silently.

"Sorry... just forget I said anything."

"No," he said, pulling her close by the waist, his hands firmly planted on her hips.

"Jess?" she asked, tentatively.

"I think it's entirely possible that I never got over you, at all," he confessed.

"Oh," Rory answered, her eyebrows raised. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Ok then," Rory said, accepting it.

"Now that it's settled, can we go back to what we were doing before?" Jess asked.

"Sleeping?" Rory asked.

"Just after that," Jess said, nuzzling against her neck.

"Freaking out?" Rory quipped.

"Real funny, Ror," he answered, kissing Rory an inch below her earlobe.

Rory shivered.

Just then there was a soft knock on Luke's bedroom door, which was not fully closed.

"Jess?" Annie's voice asked.

Jess jumped up from the bed and went to the door. "What's up, kid?" he asked, taking the little girl in his arms. "Had a bad dream?"

Annie nodded almost imperceptibly. Big tears started squeezing out from under her short eyelashes.

"What happened?" Jess asked. "Do you want to tell me about it?" He took her over to the bed and sat Annie down next to Rory, who was watching the whole interaction with hesitance.

Annie shook her head in answer. She rubbed her eyes and sniffled.

"They say that if you tell someone your bad dreams it jinxes them... helps so that they won't come true," Rory said softly. She reached over and smoothed Annie's hair, reassuring. Annie looked at Rory warily.

"I've heard that, too," Jess added, giving Rory a grateful half smile.

"I dreamed that you went away," Annie told Jess, her voice small. "And that you didn't come back, and Jake came and got me and took me back..."

Annie's tears started flowing again as she spoke and she threw herself at Jess, her arms around his neck. He could feel the hot tears against his neck.

"I'm not going anywhere, kid," he said. "I'm staying right here with you."

She cried on his shoulder a few more minutes, until she was all cried out. She looked up at him, sniffling. "Really?"

"Swear."

"Pinky swear?"

Jess hooked her pinky with his. "Pinky swear."

She sniffled, smiling a little in the dark. "Ok."

"Do you want to sleep over? Just for tonight?" Jess asked. 

Annie nodded. "Only if you don't kiss like when you do the alone sleepovers," she replied, still sniffling as she settled between Jess and Rory.

Rory blushed furiously. "Maybe I should go," she started, sitting up.

"Stay, Rory, please..." Annie asked. She took hold of Rory's arm.

Jess nodded, willing her to stay.

Rory nodded. "Ok. I'll stay. That way I can keep some of those bad dreams away."

"Goodnight, Rory," Annie said.

"Goodnight, Annie."

"Goodnight, Jess," Annie added.

"Goodnight, kid."

Silence.

"You're supposed to say goodnight to each other," Annie pointed out, annoyed.

"Right. Goodnight, Jess," Rory said, in a sing song voice.

"Goodnight, Rory. Goodnight, Annie. Goodnight, goldfish. Now can we sleep, please?"

Annie giggled. "Goodnight, grumpy."

Rory couldn't help laughing.

Jess started to tickle Annie. "You'll pay for that..."

And so Annie shrieked and a night time tickle fight began.

TBC...


	26. The history of knees

**Author's note: **Thank you all for the lovely reviews and for sticking with this. As we approach the end of the summer in _The Kid_, we also approach the end of the story. I already have a sort of sequel in the works, tell me if you're interested. _The Kid _still has a couple of chapters left in it, so enjoy while it lasts. Also, as we get closer to the end, there will be a lot of jumping around in time with the chapters, I'll be skipping over chunks of days. Please tell me if you find this odd. Any suggestions will be welcome!

**CHAPTER 25:** The history of knees

Morning arrived blurred by sunlight and heat. Rory felt the sheets sticking to her arms, her jeans sticking to her legs. The sound of distant cartoons buzzed and died, accompanied by Annie's laughter. The resilience of children, she tought, shaking off sleep.

Stars Hollow was warmer than she remembered. The thin sheen of sweat on Jess was not something she recalled. Then again, this was their first summer, their only summer.

She stretched her arms and legs. Only when staring at the bedsheets did she remember this was Luke's bed. She sat up almost immediately, the shifting of weight shaking Jess out of sleep as well.

He said nothing but kissed her knee, which by some miracle of physics was really close to him.

No one had ever kissed her knee before. Absentmindedly she ran her fingers through his messy hair. _Jess_, she thought, closing her eyes, relishing his name jumping silently in her mouth.

"You've got the smoothest knee in the history of knees," he said, his voice thick with sleep.

And at that Rory could do nothing but smile.

- - - - - - - - - -

The apartment above the bookstore took two days to fully clean, and by some unspoken agreement Luke managed to stay out of the apartment when Rory was there.

Lorelai had been the one to take the high road and make herself absent from the diner.

When the last bit of dust was removed from the kitchen counter and the new matress was delivered, Rory sat on the edge of the plastic-covered matress and cried.

- - - - - - - - -

Jess had dropped Annie off at Lane's house early that morning – it was Zach's opinion that if he could deal with two kids he could damn well deal with three – so Jess had worked on the house all day. He'd been working on the house the entire week. It was a good excuse... he'd work from morning to evening, right past the Sunny Brook visiting hours, and come back to Luke's, muscles sore, with Annie half-asleep.

Of course, his way of dealing also limited his time with Rory. They'd talked on the phone, they'd had lunch, but they had hardly looked at one another, really looked.

There was a heavy silence between them. So when he stepped up to Lane's house and knocked, he was grateful for Lane's offer to let Annie sleep over. After all, she was already asleep on the spare cot. He kissed her goodnight and she replied something uninteligible, sleepily.

Walking back to the diner, he noticed that the wind had started to cool. Summer was almost over, stretching thinly into fall.

She was wiping the bookstore windows as he passed by.

He thought for half a second that he was a fool to think he would just walk by.

She pursed her lips and looked at him through the glass, daring him to walk away, to ignore her.

She knew as well as he did that he couldn't.

Jess had left her, had loved her, had hated her, had wanted her, but he'd never ignored Rory.

She stopped wiping.

He took a deep breath and opened the bookstore door.

The bell kept ringing long after he was inside.

- - - - - - - - -

Rory handed Jess half a peanut-butter sandwich.

"I'm a little afraid to eat this," Jess said, taking it.

"Shut up and chew," Rory countered.

They sat among stacks of un-classified books. Still, he had to admit there was a lot of progress. She'd gotten the bookshelves lined, the wall painted a nice shade of green, and she'd dragged down a couple of comfortable chairs, which formed a nice reading corner along with a small table that he guessed had found its way here from Mrs. Kim's.

"You've been... absent," she started, biting into the sandwich.

"I've been working," he countered.

"On your avoidance and evasion skills."

"That, too."

"Huh."

Silence.

He took a bite, chewed, swallowed, survived. "This isn't too bad."

"Secret's in the peanuts," Rory quipped, looking away.

Silence.

"This is not something I want to do, Jess," she said, slowly. "This avoiding and hiding and generally being a teenager."

"I'm so-"

"Don't! Don't apologize," she said. "Just don't go missing..."

"I was right here."

"But you weren't... your body was here, your head was anywhere but here." She picked up her last bit of sandwich. "I don't want to fight you, Jess. I don't have the energy these days. But I will fight you if that's what it takes. I said I was here for the long haul, and you said you were, too."

Jess was a little shocked. She'd spent almost three months being cryptic and silent and now she was calling him on some of the same kind of bullshit.

Except she was right. She'd poured out her heart and gone out on a limb for him, fought with her mother because of him, and he'd been going deeper and deeper inside his own head the last week.

And if he wanted it to work, he would have to come clean.

And that meant, he had to tell the truth.

And the truth sounded a lot like this. "I don't want Annie to see Liz yet."

"Oh," Rory said, nodding in understanding. "Ok."

"Ok?"

"Ok. I get it."

"That was anti-climactic."

"Well, what did you expect?" Rory asked. "It's fully understandable, plus books say it's best to leave addicts a week or two into their recovery... it's best to isolate them from tough issues and gradually reintroduce them..."

"The kid shouldn't be a tough issue," Jess replied. "And, quite frankly, I expected you to chew me out."

"Well, there you go."

Silence.

"The house will be finished next week," Jess volunteered, a peace offering.

"What does Annie say about it?" Rory asked.

Jess shrugged. "She's never actually lived in a house. Just apartments. I don't think she fully gets it. But she likes the idea of her very own room being larger than a closet."

Rory smiled before biting into her sandwich. "I never showed you where we used to live..."

"There was a time before The Crap Shack?"

Rory nodded. "By the Independence Inn. Tiny cottage off the greens. One room only."

"What was it like?" Jess asked, finishing off his sandwich.

Rory closed her eyes. She remembered herself small, protected.

She remembered her mother, talking non-stop to drown out the silence of having no husband, no family.

It was them against the world.

It was tough.

"It was perfect," Rory answered.

She didn't know exactly when she started to cry, but she felt Jess's arms around her as tears fell.

In her hand, the crushed remains of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich disintegrated.

- - - - - -

Sleeping on the floor of the bookstore had its advantages. Sheltered from the meager light from the counter, Jess could easily reach for one book or another as he drifted in and out of sleep.

He pressed his lips against the back of her neck when he woke, and Rory would absently press flush against his body. Half asleep, she would murmur, "Read to me".

And he did.

- - - - - -

Jess was repainting the wooden floors when he heard the knock upon the door.

"Paint on the floor is wet," he hollered out. "State your business."

"It's me," a voice replied. Jess looked up to find Lorelai staring back through the doorway.

He looked back at the floorboards, the new grayish color covering the old chipped green. "What do you want?" he asked, trying not to sound too curt and failing miserably.

"My daughter back," Lorelai answered, a bit too quickly.

"And what do you want me to do about it?" he asked, rolling the paint on the boards around him.

"Talk to her," Lorelai said.

Jess shrugged. "Seems to me like you should be the one to talk to her."

"I screwed up, Jess," Lorelai admitted. She hated having to yell this into the house, from the doorway.

Jess looked up, trying to read Lorelai's face. "Rory's a smart woman. Her choices are hers to make. I may be one of the stupid choices, but it's her mistake to make, if it is a mistake. You can't change her mind, Lorelai."

"I know that," Lorelai said. "Don't you think I know that? I've been trying to steer her away from you since she was sixteen. But you always seem to find your way back to each other. So maybe I don't like it... don't like you."

"You don't have to like me. You can hate me if you want to," Jess replied. "But you're going to have to deal with my being here."

Lorelai nodded, her lips pursed. "You scare me, kid."

"If anyone's dangerous here, it's Rory," Jess said, shaking his head. "She could pick up and leave, any second now. She's trying to anchor herself down but she can go anytime she chooses."

"She wouldn't."

"She's done it before, Lorelai. Her being here is a product of that. I used to be like that, and I know as much." He silenced himself after that. It was too much to be yelling out, to be telling this woman who hated him. "She misses you," he added, almost as an afterthought.

"I miss her, too."

Jess shook his head, and started rollering the paint onto the floor again. "Then you should do something about that."

Lorelai nodded, mostly to herself. Jess had no plans of looking back up, of watching her walk away.

He knew she was a grown woman and she would eventually get it right.

- - - - - - - -

Jess was finishing up on the porch when he heard her footsteps on the gravel. He almost knew her weight by now, the way her feet would push down into the ground.

"A hammock?" Rory asked, a shy smile coloring her face.

Jess hung up the left side of the hammock, then the right across the porch. "Yup."

"Not very Connecticut," Rory pointed out, taking a few steps towards him, then plopping down on the center of the hammock.

"Exactly what I was going for," Jess replied. "Scoot over."

She did exactly that, leaving room for Jess. As soon as he sat down the hammock came into a new balance, and they found their feet off the ground.

"They're good for sleeping in the summer," Rory said, almost an afterthought.

"Africa?" Jess asked, wondering where else Rory would have slept in a hammock.

"South America."

"I love you."

Rory looked at him sideways. His blurted confession made her raise an eyebrow. She tried not to lose her balance on the hammock. She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"You sap."

"Shut it, Gilmore. You'll ruin my reputation."

"You're cute."

"I'm gonna kill you," Jess replied, his hands coming together in a fake-choking circle.

"Look at the cute boy talking all violent," Rory said, patting Jess' knee.

Jess rolled his eyes. "Then I'm going to wrap your body in the hammock and throw it into the lake."

Rory leaned in and kissed him. "The lake! How very very romantic of you."

"No one will ever find the body. The swans will have a field day."

- - - - - -

They walked hand in hand, wandering through tiny backstreets of Stars Hollow, before spilling into the town square. The dim streetlights revealed a shadow hanging around the bookstore.

Jess pointed it out to Rory, who'd been staring at her shoes.

"It's Lorelai."

Rory shrugged. "I don't want to talk to her."

Jess sighed. "You're gonna have to deal with her sooner or later."

"Later."

"Ror..."

Rory stopped walking. "Let's not get started on the subject of avoiding mothers, Jess."

"Liz is an entirely separate issue."

"You tell yourself that," Rory said, sticking her hands in her pockets and furiosly picking up her step.

"Hey!" Jess caught her by the arm and made her stop. Taking her face in his hands, he all but forced her to look up at him. Up into his eyes. "Hey. Is this what we're going to fight about today?"

"Maybe," she replied, a hint of cynicism in her voice.

Jess nodded. "Ok, good. Throw it at me. Gimme your best shot."

"Come on, Jess, just... let it go."

"Nope." Jess let go of her arms, but blocked her.

She tried to go right, and Jess cut her off. She tried to go left, Jess cut her off.

"What?"

"We are going to fight this one out, you're not walking away angry. Not tonight."

"Fine. You want to fight?" Rory smacked him upside the arm. "Here you are, all high and mighty and you should do this, you should do that, but the fact is you can't talk to your mother any more than I can talk to mine, and you aren't trying either."

"My mother's a junkie, your mother just has a mouth that speaks before she thinks it through."

"She doesn't trust me, Jess. She doesn't get anything about who I am now."

"Maybe it's because you haven't let her get to know you now."

"Yeah, that's probably it, Dr. Phil." She tried to walk past him again.

"Hey, will you just stop for a second?" Jess asked, pulling her back. He didn't quite know how it happened, but he had his arms around her and was just sort of hugging her now. She struggled for half a second but gave it up.

"I just... I miss being able to tell her everything," Rory confessed.

Jess kissed her cheek, her hair. "I know, kid." He took a deep breath before turning her to face him. "But you have a chance now. She's there, blocking the entrance to your apartment. Logic would say it's time to have it out with her. Maybe listen a little? Talk some more?"

Rory nodded.

"Good."

"Still doesn't make you any less hard-headed for not wanting to try with Liz."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Rory sighed. "So... I'm gonna talk to her."

"You do that," Jess replied.

"And you're going to..."

"Luke's. I'll see you later?" he asked.

She grabbed him by the jacket and pulled him into a kiss by way of an answer.

- - - - - - -

Lorelai paced back and forth, four steps one way, four steps another, in front of the bookstore's doorstep. She averted her eyes from the exchange between Jess and Rory.

She got it now.

She'd never seen Rory fight anyone the way she fought Jess. And she'd never seen Rory fight for anyone as hard as she fought for Jess. She was his champion, his advocate.

And in some ways, Jess was the same for her. Silently, with barely a word, he'd somehow been the one to thank when Rory went back to Yale.

Rory's footsteps meshed with Lorelai's own, and it was time to face the music.

"You want to talk?" Rory asked, taking out her keys.

"Rory, I..."

Rory glanced around the square, at the quiet streets, at the hidden yet watchful neighbors. "Let's talk inside."

- - - - - - -

Lorelai had expected many things. Standing in the middle of the renovated bookstore was not one of them. "Wow."

Rory shrugged. "It's not done yet."

"You did all of this..."

"Tom did the hard parts, I got some stuff at a fair, and Jess helped out."

"Wow," Lorelai repeated, her arms gesturing to the neat, welcoming environment around her. "I didn't think..."

"You didn't trust me," Rory interrupted. They were no longer talking about just the bookstore.

"Rory..."

"Not with the bookstore, or with Jess. I'm all grown up. And I made the choice to come back, not sure of what would come of it, but completely conscious. I knew it was a risk. It was a choice I had to make."

"But then Jess showed up..."

Rory slammed her hand on the counter. Lorelai jumped. "Stop for a second, dammit. Look around you. Look at me. I'm happy with Jess. I don't know where it will end up, but I know it's right. He makes me better."

"Aw, kiddo, I know..."

"No, mom, you don't know and I'm not a kid. I know he scares the hell out of you because he reminds you of dad or whatever... But you need to get over it. I love you, but I'm not you, Jess is not dad, and I'm not sixteen."

"I know that, Rory..." Lorelai wiped a tear away. "Of course I know that. And I'm proud of who you are. It's just that you worked so hard for your dreams and I think of you wasting your life away in this little town..."

"Would that be so bad?" Rory asked, taking a step closer to Lorelai. "I chased after my dream like a horse chases after a carrot. But when the race ended, I was none the better for it. I ran so hard I forgot to grow up. Being in Stars Hollow didn't bring me back to my childhood. It's... helped me get perspective. I could grow old here." Rory ran her fingers over a couple of stacks of books. "When I think of home, I think of Stars Hollow. I think of you, and Luke, and Lane, and Jess."

"You planning on staying here forever?"

Rory shook her head. "I still love being a journalist. I still have work ahead of me. But right now, I'm exactly where I belong."

"I'm sorry for..." Lorelai started, but Rory interrupted her with a hug.

"You just have to learn to give me some space and time, mom. I'll be up and running faster than you can imagine, and then you'll just have to miss me..."

"Rory..."

"You have to be civil to Jess."

"Anything you say."

"He's good. We're good."

"Are we good?" Lorelai asked, breaking the hug just long enough to look at her daughter.

"We're golden."

"Good. 'Cause there's this thing..."

Rory narrowed her eyes. "What thing?"

"Friday night dinner," Lorelai said.

Rory sighed. "Ok."

"I'm not finished," Lorelai said, forcing a smile.

"Oh, no."

"Oh, yes," Lorelai replied. "They want Luke and Jess and Annie there."

"How do they know about Jess and Annie?"

"I sort of... told."

"Why? How? Do they want to skin Jess alive?"

"It was more of a convincing myself out loud by convincing them that Jess is a good guy. So naturally, they were curious."

Rory cringed. "Last time grandma saw Jess he had a black eye from being beaked by a swan."

"Nowhere to go but up."

- - - - - - - - -

It was almost midnight when Jess heard Rory's footsteps on the stairs. She pushed the door open, trying to muffle the soft creak. She tiptoed barefoot up to the couch where Jess was resting.

"You awake?" she whispered.

"Am now," he replied.

"Scoot over."

He did as he was told.

"How'd it go?"

Rory nodded with a small smile. "Good. We're good. Everything's good. Ok, so there's a possible event next week that's not so good, but aside from that, we're good."

"So what are you doing here?" he asked, sitting up.

"Luke's over at my mother's," Rory explained. "Also, I have this problem."

"What problem?" Jess asked, a bit concerned.

"I've acquired this nasty habit of needing you. It kinda makes sleeping alone impossible," Rory explained.

Jess smirked. "Is that so?"

"It is." Rory leaned in. The couch so small, them sitting so close to one another.

Jess softly brushed her lips with his. "No use breaking a habit."

Rory felt the breath rush out of her. How did he manage to do this every time? "That's what I thought," she replied, her breathy whisper all but caressed Jess's lips.

Jess brushed her lips softly again but refused to give her what she really wanted. He nuzzled her cheeks, brushed kisses on her neck, took in her scent. He loved her smell, her smooth skin.

She could feel her skin burning with need every place he touched. She was almost shivering, and his fingertips ran along the length of her arms, brushing the sides of her breasts ever so slightly.

"Jess," she hissed, his name a snake on her lips.

"Patience..." he whispered, his fingers deftly moving the strap of her tanktop so he could kiss her shoulder.

"I have none," Rory replied, her mouth dry.

"Shh..."

"I want you, Jess," she said, trying to grasp his t-shirt, to undress him, to regain some semblance of control over this situation. "Please..."

Through semi-closed eyes he could see her, writhing to have him inside her. That would have to wait. He grabbed her wrists and prevented her from taking off his t-shirt. His lips were so close to her ear that every breath made her skin prickle. "Tell me exactly what you want..."

"Jess..."

His hand moved slowly to massage one of her breasts. "Tell me what you need..."

She moaned softly. Jess looked around. In the haze of having her near, he'd all but forgotten they were in the living room. He took Rory's hand and guided her towards Luke's room. He closed the door and locked it, the soft click a signal of Rory's undoing.

She was up against the door. "Vertical surfaces," she joked, trying to regain her standing.

Some of the intensity had been lost as they had moved from one room to the other, but Jess was intent on not allowing the moment to fade. He pressed his body to hers and kissed her full on the mouth. Lips and tongues and moans. This was what Rory had wanted, had been waiting for.

When they broke apart, Jess knew the game had changed. He'd wanted to slow everything down for her, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to. After all, he needed her just as much as she needed him.

"What do you want, Rory?" he asked, trailing two fingers down her jaw.

"You..."

"You have me," he replied. "How do you want me?" His hands ran down her sides, up her skirt. He pressed into her and she could feel him, hard, ready.

Rory couldn't think through all that fog. "Everywhere," she replied, hoping he'd understand.

He did. And so he was.

Afterward, Rory couldn't remember exactly what he did that night. More than a memory, what lingered was a feeling of being completely happy, full.

Whenever Rory thought of her life, there had always been a sort of hole in her, a space that she'd never been able to fill. Half her life it had been because her father had been absent. The second half of her life, the loneliness had deepened, expanded, to allow Jess's absence to find room among her emptyness.

But lying next to Jess, who just couldn't stop kissing her collarbone, who just couldn't stop touching her, everything became clear. It was a bit like getting glasses for the first time. You discover that the blurred edges are no longer phantoms, that everything has a sharp barrier, that matter has a beginning and an end.

"You're like my first pair of glasses," she said, softly, running her fingers through his dark hair. He looked up into her eyes, stopped the butterflies he was drawing on her belly.

"I'm what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Never mind," Rory said, blushing. She looked away.

"Hey," he said, kissing her shoulder. "That may be the best compliment I've ever gotten."

"Shut up."

"Really. It beats Ms. Patty pinching my ass by a long shot."

Rory swatted him on the shoulder. "You keep that up and I'll be doing the pinching."

Jess kissed her shoulder once more, then ran his teeth along the skin there, making Rory shiver. "You make all these threats but you don't follow through. I don't know if I – OUCH!"

Rory grinned. "That's what you get for being so full of yourself."

He slid further up her body and took her mouth with his. "You are going to pay."

She shrugged her shoulders, smiling. "It's only fair."

TBC...

Liked it? Hated it? Let me know!


	27. Wrapping up

**CHAPTER 26 – Wrapping up**

Jess walked into Luke's, his fingers loosely linked with Rory's. He enjoyed this comfort, almost enjoyed the stares of the town. They were becoming less surprised with every passing day. So when Rory's hand drifted away as he made his way to the counter, he felt confident that he would hold her hand again soon. This, almost a certainty, was new.

Annie stopped twirling around on the stool and jumped off to greet Jess. Jess grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up, hugging her close. "You're getting too big for carrying," Jess said.

"That's not a nice thing to tell a lady," Annie replied.

Jess was taken aback. Only when Miss Patty tapped his shoulder did he understand.

"You've been hanging out with Patty too much."

Annie shook her head. "She said I could take ballet lessons with her."

"She could. She's got good bone structure," Miss Patty pointed out.

Jess looked to Rory for help. Rory stopped rattling off her order to Cesar and walked over to Jess and Annie. "What's up?"

"Miss Patty says I can be in dance lessons," Annie replied.

"I'm not sure about that... I mean, isn't that like, competitive and painful and all that?" Jess asked.

Miss Patty seemed very confused.

Rory rolled her eyes. "You've watched way too many TV movies. Ballet is fun when you're little. If she's good and she likes it, then, yes, it could be very competitive if that's what she wants to do for a living."

"Come on, Jess, pleeeease," Annie pleaded.

Jess shrugged. "I don't know if we can afford it," he told Rory softly.

"Yes, we can," Rory replied. Jess raised an eyebrow. Miss Patty raised an eyebrow. Rory nodded. "We can."

"Do you really want to do this?" Jess asked Annie. Annie nodded. "Ok. Good, then. And you know that if you stop liking it you can stop doing it, right?" Annie nodded again.

"Good," Miss Patty said. "I'll see you Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, sweety" she added to Annie. "And I'll e-mail _you_ about shoes and leotards," Miss Patty said to Rory, walking away quickly.

Jess grunted.

"What?" Rory asked.

"I'm a kept man," Jess muttered.

Rory led him and Annie to their table. "What are you talking about?"

"She said she'd e-mail you about leotards and shoes," Jess explained.

"What, you want to be in charge of leotards?" Rory raised an eyebrow. "And do you even have e-mail? Is it bitemy?"

"I resent that."

"Can we eat?" Annie asked. "I'm hungry."

"Food's on the way, kid," called Luke from over the counter. He arrived with the plates and placed them in front of Rory and Annie. Annie started digging in.

"Thanks Luke," Rory said.

Luke waved her away. "Don't mention it. She eats like a Gilmore already. Bad, bad influence."

"Look, Uncle Luke,"Annie said, raising her arms and forming a small circle with them. "I'm gonna be a ballerina!"

Luke groaned. "Oh, brother."

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Jacket?" Rory asked. "Your good jacket."

"The blue one?" Jess asked.

"Yup."

"Remind me again why I'm doing this?" Jess asked.

"Because I asked." Rory replied. "Really, really, really nicely."

Jess shook his head. "Nope. That wasn't it."

"Because my mother roped us into it?" Rory tried again.

"No, that's the reason _you_ have to go. Me and Annie should be getting off the hook scott-free."

Rory groaned. "Because I offered you really hot sex when we get back tonight?" she attempted again, leaning in close to Jess and nipping his neck.

Jess sucked in his breath. "Right. That was it."

"Good. So, a tie?" Rory asked.

"Not gonna happen," Jess replied, kissing her full on the mouth. "But nice try."

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Annie, please take off the tu-tu," Jess begged.

Annie shook her head. "No! You said to put on my best clothes, this is my best clothes."

"It's purple overalls and a tu-tu," Jess stated.

"So?" Annie replied, defiant.

"So it's Rory's grandparents we're going to see, and they hate me, and because Lorelai's a nutjob we have to go visit them and if they see you in that they might hang me from my toenails," Jess explained, aware it was a rant that Annie did not fully comprehend.

Rory walked back into the apartment. "Come on, guys, we're late," she exclaimed.

"Look at what she's wearing," Jess stated.

Rory looked at Annie. "She looks fine, Jess."

"You made me wear a shirt."

"Right."

"Almost made me wear a tie."

"Yes. Point being?"

"How come she can wear that?" Jess finished.

"If you were seven you could probably get away with the tu-tu as well," Rory said. "I'm gonna start the car. Don't forget a jacket, Annie," she called back at them, running down the stairs.

Annie stuck her tongue out at Jess. "Told you so."

"This is gonna suck," Jess muttered.

- - - - - - - - - - -

The door was bigger, more imposing than he remembered.

"So, who's knocking?" Jess asked.

"The van's not a-rocking," Lorelai quipped.

"I'm not going to knock this time, just so you know," Luke announced.

"We could ring the doorbell," Rory pointed out.

"Can I ring the doorbell?" Annie asked.

Jess raised her up. "Knock yourself out."

And so she did, pushing the doorbell intermitently for about twenty seconds.

"What on earth is your problem, Lorela-" Emily Gilmore started, opening the door in a fury. She was met by Annie's dark brown eyes and reddish hair. "Oh. Who are you?"

"Doula Anne Jameson, I'm Jess's sister. Who are you?" Annie asked, extending her hand.

Emily extended her hand in turn and allowed the little girl to shake it. "Emily Gilmore. I'm Lorelai's mother and Rory's grandmother."

"It's nice to meet you," Annie replied. "I'm going to be a ballerina, see?"

Jess glanced at Emily apologetically. "It's her favorite outfit."

Emily gave Jess a sideways glance, a bit amused. "I see. Well, don't just stand there. Come in."

Jess let Annie down, and Annie bounded after Emily Gilmore into the house.

"Well, that was..." Rory started.

Jess shook his head. "Just the beginning."

- - - - - - - - - -

Emily watched Annie with great interest as they took their seats at the table. Annie's head hardly cleared the edge of the table.

"Uh, is there a cushion or something I could use so she can reach?" Jess started to ask, but Richard had beat him to it, producing a large and very fancy-looking throw pillow.

"Will this do?" he asked.

Jess nodded, placing it on the chair and propping Annie on it. He pushed her chair in so she'd be close enough to the table and sat next to her.

Annie looked at the table setting before her and looked up at Jess questioningly. "Why do they need all these forks?" she asked.

Jess just shrugged and pointed to one. "It's a game. You start from the outside and work your way in."

"Oh," she said. Looking at Emily, she gestured towards her with her head. "Is the napkin thing a game too?"

He nodded, grinning. "Yup. Who can keep it from falling the longest."

"Good... I'm gonna win this," Annie declared, setting the cloth napkin on her lap.

Jess almost choked on his water as he picked up what may or not have been a glance of approval coming from Emily Gilmore.

- - - - - - - - -

Richard and Emily were profoundly entertained by Annie, whose antics included prancing around and intermitently reciting Dr. Seuss. Luke and Lorelai bantered about something or another, enjoying having the spotlight elsewhere. "I'm gonna give Jess the grand tour," Rory said, taking Jess's hand and pulling him away.

"So this is Grandpa's study." Rory showed Jess the bookshelves, filled to the brim with every book imaginable. "It makes my collection look like the microbiology section at the Black, White and Read."

"If I was in the mood to steal something, I'd have really heavy pockets in ten minutes," Jess replied, leaning closer into Rory.

"So... what are you in the mood for?" Rory asked, feeling Jess's breath on her skin.

"You know that promise you made me?" Jess asked.

"To take you off the breathing tube if your hearing ever became too weak to distinguish between Coldplay and The Clash?" Rory joked.

"Funny," Jess said. He slid his hand slowly up her skirt. Rory looked around. No one was near.

"Jess," she hissed out, his hand traveling higher, moving to the inside of her thigh. His fingers skimmed the fabric of her panties.

"I want to fuck you right now," he whispered.

Rory swallowed hard, feeling every inch of her skin grow alert. His words had an intoxicating effect on her. "We can't... not here..." she said, looking around. Any second now, someone would come in. Any second now, someone would see, would remember they were absent...

He breathed against her ear. "Where?"

Rory guided him silently to the guest bathroom. Once inside he took no time to slide her panties down her legs. She was ready for him, his words had made her mouth water. She wanted him. Hungrily her hands fumbled with his zipper. His pants were around his ankles immediately. Before she could even think about it he was inside her, pinning her against the door, fucking her.

She only kept quiet by kissing him, his tongue exploring her mouth as he thrust into her.

"Come for me, come for me," he whispered against her ear and come she did, biting down on her lip to keep from screaming. His release followed hers, and he kissed her hungrily to keep silent.

Deep breaths.

He held her tight against himself, steadying his breath while he rested them against the door. "This was not how I imagined this evening would go."

"It's your own damn fault," Rory said as Jess readjusted their clothing. "This is what everyone warned me about."

"So, was it everything they said it would be?" Jess joked.

"Yup. Bad boy equals mind-blowing quickies in high-end guest bathrooms," she said.

Jess smoothed her skirt. With a sigh, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "We should get back."

- - - - - - - - - -

Lorelai knew as soon as Rory and Jess walked into the room.

She raised an eyebrow at her daughter and at Jess. Jess ignored her but Rory blushed.

"Dirty," Lorelai whispered.

"Excuse me?" Luke asked, completely lost.

"Nothing, babe."

Ah, Rory would never hear the end of it.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Jess, it was nice to meet you," Richard said, escorting everyone to the door. "Your sister is very charming."

"It was nice meeting you, too, Mr. Gilmore. I'll give you a call when the book comes in," Jess replied.

"Really, Rory, with you owning a bookstore now, I won't have any savings left for retirement," Richard added.

Rory smiled and kissed her grandfather's cheek. "Thanks for everything, Grandpa. I'll send you an invitation for the bookstore's opening."

Emily didn't trail far behind. Annie had, for some reason or another, grabbed hold of Emily's hand. Emily tried to start an argument with Lorelai, but it was hard with a seven-year-old clinging to her hand. "When is she going back to work?" Emily asked, a whispered anger.

Lorelai smiled. "She's an adult now, Mom. She's trying things. She'll find her way."

"But, Lorelai..."

"We have to go, Mom. It was lovely seeing you."

"Bye, Mrs. Gilmore," Annie said, letting go of her hand and waving furiously. "The food was good except for the brussel sprouts"

"Annie..." Jess warned. He reigned her in and extended his hand to Emily. "Mrs. Gilmore, it was nice to see you again."

Emily took his hand and shook it curtly. Almost under her breath, she said, "She's a lovely child." With pursed lips, she added, "Take good care of them."

Jess nodded slowly. Them. She had included Rory in the deal.

This was, probably, the closest he would get to her approval. He smiled shortly and picked Annie up.

Rory took his hand as they walked to the Jeep.

- - - - - - - - - -

Annie slept peacefully between Rory and Jess as they all made their way back to Stars Hollow. Luke drove carefully, about five miles under the speed limit.

"Is she asleep already?" Lorelai asked.

"Yup," Jess replied, unaware of what he was opening himself up for.

"They did something dirty at my mother's house," Lorelai told Luke.

Luke almost drove off the road. "They what?"

"MOM!" Rory exclaimed, blushing.

Jess just laughed.

Luke shook his head. "You have some nerve, kid. If Mrs. Gilmore had caught you, there wouldn't be enough of you left to recognize at the morgue."

- - - - - - - - -

A few days later, their work at the bookstore hardly seemed to have made a dent. The boxes and books were still lying around, without an evident order.

"I don't think we're ever going to have this place up and running again," Rory said, looking around the bookstore.

Jess shrugged, wiping down one more shelf. "Sure we are. If you ever stop making friends with all the books. You're too sentimental. We should have a junk sale. I mean, who needs all this Paolo Coelho?"

"That was Kirk's last shipping," Rory protested. "He'd be upset if we threw them out..."

"Sentimental sap," Jess replied. "You are running out of space, though. There's that shipment coming Wednesday with schoolbooks and there's no place to put them."

"We'll think of something," Rory said, crossing days off the wall calendar. "Speaking of schoolbooks, school starts in a little over a week."

Jess looked up from the pile of books he was classifying. "So?"

"So... remember that thing I wasn't going to pressure you into doing?" Rory asked.

"Have sex before marriage?" Jess replied, looking back at the books.

"The other thing."

"Drugs?"

"Jess Mariano."

"Right here."

"Could we end it with the evasion tactics?"

"Sure," he conceded, finally putting the books down and heading to the cash register where Rory was scanning books. "Ramble on."

"No ramble. Just wanted to tell you that in about five minutes I'm going to get on your case about visiting your Mom in rehab. I like to give people fair warning when I'm going to start a campaign," Rory explained.

"I'll consider myself warned."

"Good."

"Good."

"Great. So when you gonna go?" she asked, both elbows on the counter.

"Rory..."

"Tomorrow is a good day," she added.

"Rory..."

"Better than today, not as bad as the day after tomorrow."

Jess sighed. "Tomorrow sounds just peachy."

Rory smiled and reached across the counter to kiss him softly. "So you want me to come with?"

Jess thought about it for a second. Then, softly, he nodded.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"That's where Liz lives?" Annie asked, pointing through the iron gates at the large red-brick house.

Jess nodded. "That's it."

"It's nicer than our New York place," Annie pointed out.

Jess nodded. Rory closed the car doors and leaned into Jess. "What ever happened to your place in New York?"

Jess shrugged. "It was rent controlled. Probably Jake's still there."

"Oh."

Annie ignored their exchange, pulling on Jess's hand. "Come on, let's go see Mom!"

- - - - - - - -

Two checkpoints later and they were in.

The common room was empty. Weekdays usually were slow, the nurse informed them.

Liz walked out into the common room with a slow shuffling of feet.

"Hey," she said, grinning widely. Annie looked a little apprehensive, approaching her with a little less excitement than that she'd shown at the gate. It wasn't an odd reaction. Liz was thinner, thinner than Rory had ever seen her. Her hair, once so vivaciously red, now seemed a dull shade of dirty blonde. "Come here, kiddo!"

Annie closed her arms around Liz in a tight hug, Liz lifted her off the ground with a bit of difficulty. "My, you've gotten so big!"

"I'm going to be a ballerina," Annie explained.

Liz held her close, holding back tears. "Of course you are, sweetie."

Rory watched Jess's reaction through all this exchange. He kept his distance, but seemed half a second away from grabbing Annie away from Liz and taking off. Liz almost sensed his distance. She put Annie back down on the ground and walked over to Jess. "Hey, kid," she said.

"Liz," he replied. He kept his stance, his arms crossed, urging her to stay two steps away. "You look good."

Liz shrugged. "Getting there, I think."

"Any plans?" Jess asked.

"I still have two more months here. Then I thought, maybe I'd try the Rennaisance Fair at Woodbury. The one where TJ and I met," she said, sadly.

Jess nodded. "It would be nice. You'd be close to Annie."

"I thought maybe Annie could..." Liz started, but Jess's eyes flashed her a warning.

"Not now."

"But maybe..."

"She starts school in Stars Hollow next week," Jess explained. "She's settling into a routine. She has a home," he added. "Do you want to take that on?"

"Maybe I'm ready," Liz suggested, squeezing Annie's hand.

Jess shook his head. "I'm not ready to pick up the pieces again. Maybe once you've been sober for a year..."

"A year?" Liz asked, letting go of Annie's hand. Rory moved closer to Annie, who looked just a little scared. She looked over to Rory. "What, so she's the new mommy, you're the new daddy, one big happy family where I don't fit in?"

Annie walked over to Rory and hugged her legs.

Jess got up close to his mother, his voice low, measured. "You're scaring her, Liz. Take a breath."

Liz looked into her son's eyes. "She's my baby."

"Look at yourself and tell me what's best for her now. Tell me that it's not stability, or a town full of people who'll look after her. Tell me that it's you."

"I'm her mother," Liz replied.

Jess nodded. "Once you're clean, we can start over, Liz. In a few months, when you get out and she's in school we'll figure it out. Just... stay clean, ok?"

"I will," Liz promised. "I will, baby, I will. I'll be good again and you can both come live with me," she added, hugging Jess tightly.

Rory held Annie close. Annie buried her face in Rory's shoulder and cried softly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rory rode in the back of Jess's car, holding Annie as she slept.

"So that was a fiasco," Jess said.

Rory didn't quite know what to say to that. "What did the doctor tell you?"

"She tried to escape once. She's had a couple of breakdowns, and she's turned vegetarian the past two weeks. They have her on antidepressants. They think some of the mood swings might be related to minor brain damage, because she stopped breathing when she OD'd," Jess explained.

"Two more months?" Rory asked.

"Five more months," Jess clarified. "She loses track of time."

"She's right about one thing, though."

"What's that?"

"Annie has grown. Like a weed. She's outgrown all her jeans," Rory replied, trying to lighten the mood.

"You're just trying to take me shopping," Jess retorted.

Rory shrugged. "Whatever it takes."

Jess took a left and passed the Welcome to Stars Hollow sign. "She's really wrong about who we are to Annie."

"How so?" Rory asked, running her fingers through Annie's hair.

"Luke is the closest I've ever had to a father. He's that person in my life. I think that we are who Annie needs us to be. And if that means that I'm more her father than her brother, I can live with that," Jess said.

He glanced at Rory in the rearview mirror. Rory looked back at him and slowly smiled.

- - - - - - - - - -

Jess arrived at the bookstore with a handful. A Korean handful.

"I finally convinced Zach and Lane to let me catch up on my baby-sitting skills," Jess said, as Rory watched the boys go for the hardcover books and start banging them against the furniture. Annie, who'd been lounging around the children's section, ran over to join them.

"We open in three days. A hostile takeover is going to set us back a week," Rory pointed out.

Jess kissed her cheek and grabbed a grocery bag from behind the counter. "Take it easy. I just came over to get Annie. We'll be out of your hair in five minutes."

"Where are you headed?" Rory asked.

"The house," Jess answered, almost too naturally.

Rory's eyes widened. "It's done?"

"Done, complete, furniture in place, clothes unpacked. I took Annie there this morning," Jess replied, a smirk on his lips. "Just in time too, April will be here day after tomorrow."

"Annie didn't say anything," Rory said, her hands on her hips.

"I asked her not to. I wanted to tell you myself."

Rory smiled. "I'll drop by after closing."

"I'll have dinner ready. We'll celebrate."

"Well, aren't you the man of the house."

Jess shook his head. "Never thought I'd see the day."

The sound of books crashing to the floor brought them out of their little world. Rory rolled her eyes.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked. "Get these rascals out of my store!"

Jess nodded and whistled, loudly. "Kids! Single file! Let's go!"

- - - - - - - - - - -

Dinner had been pasta with grilled eggplant. Rory didn't ask about the vegetables involved, Jess didn't tell.

The kids had already fallen asleep by the time Rory had arrived, tired from the excitement of the sleep-over and the promise of more fun to come.

"So they're staying tomorrow night too?" Rory asked, polishing off her plate with a piece of bread.

Jess shook his head, poured Rory another glass of water. "Couldn't convince Lane to let them sleep over two nights in a row. Next time, though, I'll try going through Zach."

"He'll be like, whatever, dude, take the kids," Rory said, attempting to imitate Zach. She took a long drink of water.

"Sorry about that," Jess said, pointing to the glass.

"About what?" Rory asked, confused.

"Thought I'd get wine, but then I didn't know if you liked wine. Realized I don't know a lot about you still, but I know you drink water," he said with a shrug.

"Water's good," Rory answered, reassuring. "And you can ask, you know." She took another sip of water. "You can ask me anything."

"Easy on that water," Jess quipped. He fidgeted with his fork nervously. Rory looked up at him.

"I mean it, Jess. Ask."

He sighed. "When are you going back to work?"

Rory looked down at her hands. "Oh."

"Huh," Jess let out. He stood up and started clearing the dishes.

"Jess, stop. Sit."

He did.

Rory's hands were on her lap, and she kept picking imaginary lint off her jeans. "Honestly?"

"Of course."

"I don't know yet."

"Do you think it'll be soon?" Jess asked.

"Define soon."

"Next month."

Rory looked up at Jess. "No. Of course not."

"How soon, Rory?" Jess pressed on.

"A year," Rory said, softly. "I think I'll stick around for about a year."

"And then?" Jess asked.

"Why are you asking this now, Jess?"

"Because we need to know."

Rory nodded softly. She got it, she did. Jess had to know, so that he would know what to tell Annie. "I didn't think that far ahead. When I came back, I thought of it as a vacation, you know? Time off, then go back to business as usual, three years away from home. Except now I don't think I could go away for such a long time and leave everything behind."

"Everything?" Jess asked.

Rory picked at the imaginary lint again. "Everyone. You."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

"So what solution have you come up with?" Jess asked, trying to seem interested in his shoelaces.

"If I still have a job when I go back, I was thinking about... well... working overseas for short bursts of time, a month or two, coming back here, working on the bookstore..." Rory said. She slapped her legs to get Jess's attention. "Dammit, Jess. I've been trying not to think about it, not to plan, and I know you need a plan, you and Annie, but I don't have one yet. I was hoping you'd help me figure it out."

"Do you think you could live with that? Your dream job one-quarter of the year and working in Stars Hollow at the bookstore the rest of the time?" Jess questioned. "Can you see that for yourself? Is it enough?"

"Did you ever expect to be parenting a seven-year old at 29? Did you think you'd find yourself back in Stars Hollow, writing and working at a bookstore? " Rory asked. "Dreams change, Jess. We adapt. The things that make us happy change." Rory caught Jess's hands in between her own and smiled. "Well, not all of them."

"I think the bookstore should have two floors," Jess blurted out.

"What?"

"Two floors. You know, you could use the rooms upstairs as storage, the kitchen could be made into some sort of coffee thing, the rest could be space for shelves. Maybe a couple of chairs."

"Well, that came out of nowhere," Rory muttered. "Have you been hanging out with my mother?"

"Think about it. You have a shipping coming in tomorrow, five shelves that you bought but have nowhere to place, there's almost no space for the new screen for movie nights."

"You've really thought this through except for the tiny detail of where I'd live," Rory said. "Of course, I could always move back in with..." Rory looked up at Jess, who was staring at her, matter-of-factly. Suddenly it dawned on her. "Wait. Start over."

"I think the bookstore should have two floors," he stated again, slower this time.

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me to move in with you? Here?"

"I'm just saying it would make good business sense," Jess said. "You know, you have all that space up there."

"Jess, are you asking me to move in with you?" she asked again.

"We sleep together a lot anyway. It's a waste of space, space the bookstore needs."

"You're asking me to move in with you," Rory stated, this time with certainty.

"You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" Jess asked.

Rory nodded rapidly. "Oh, you bet."

He sighed. "Move in with me?" Jess asked. "No strings attached, no expectations, just... I like having you close and Annie's nuts about you and... stop me before I go fully chick-flick, Rory."

Rory didn't even nod. She just lunged at him, lips first.

**TBC...**

**Author's note:** As you can probably tell, things are coming to an end. The sequel is coming along nicely, (and faster than the final chapter of this). The Kid will probably have one more chapter and/or an epilogue. I want to thank you all for coming along for the ride and soon I hope you'll catch the sequel train. And if you're looking for more thrills to keep you going, a new chapter of _We are the subsect_ and of _Fuscia Sequins _are up. Tell me what you've thunk!


	28. All good things must come to a bend

**Please read author's note on bottom of page.**

**Chapter 27 – All good things must come to a _bend_**

Taylor looked unbelievably puffed up and proud.

"This looks very nice, Rory," he said, taking a stroll between the shelves in the back. Rory followed him at the same pace. She looked back at Jess, who was ringing up the third sale of the hour. Jess rolled his eyes. Rory winked at him conspiratorially. "My only concern is, of course, that you're entrusting this well-established Stars Hollow business to that small-time crook you seem to be so fond of."

"Have I shown you the Historic New England Architecture section we have?" Rory asked, steering the conversation away from conflict.

"Oh, you must stock up on the lovely photo-book from Steel and Waverley. It's sure to be a favorite among the tourist crowd."

"Show me which one," Rory said, leading the way to a section near the window.

Annie ran out of the children's section, holding a flat, orange book in her hand. Triumphantly she jumped up and down. "I found it. You'd hid it," she told Jess, with a pout.

"What, you don't like scavenger hunts?" Jess asked.

"I don't like you hiding my stuff," Annie said.

"That is not your book," Jess countered.

"Is now. You said if I found it, I could get it."

Jess conceded, shaking his head. "Fine. But I can't ring it up until the end of the day, so I'll put it here behind the register for you."

"But I wanna read it now."

"Then I guess you'll have to stay behind the register too."

"Cool!" Annie exclaimed, finding a spot beneath the counter that housed the register. Jess laughed. Annie reminded him of Lily.

It made him wonder. What Lily was up to. Whether Jimmy and Sasha were still together.

It seemed so long ago, that trip to California, his first parting with Rory. He'd gone on a quest to find his father and he found instead a life that had gone on in spite of him. Jimmy had a family, a family dynamic where Jess hardly fit. He would've given anything to have a place in that house.

Jess ruffled Annie's hair and looked at Rory, who was still talking up Taylor.

Maybe he had a place of his own now.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

They had a room now, something Jess found incredibly daunting.

He hadn't had a room of his own in over two months, and now that he had one, it wasn't just his, it was Rory's as well. And Rory had an amazing capacity to take over and invade every space she entered. Amazing.

Jess marveled at the tiny discoveries he made everyday. Like, she'd chosen their sides of the bed. Or that she meticulously pushed toothpaste from the bottom of the tube up. She would hang her discarded bras on the inside doorknob of the bathroom and wait until a few days had passed so she would have two or three to rinse out instead of one. She took off her socks in her sleep, and after a few days he would have to rescue them from under the covers and toss them in the hamper because his feet kept bumping into her socks.

This was a level of intimacy he hadn't anticipated but that he welcomed.

At night, when Annie went to sleep, the house went quiet. They would sit in silence for an hour or so, reading, and then Rory would start with her midnight confessions. It was a project they had started and dropped, started and dropped, but the house allowed them to begin again. She would tell him something about her life in the time they'd been apart, describing every place she'd been to, every ravaged face. She would tell him of war, of famine, of children. She would speak of blood and shrapnel and the inability to cry or the need to stand perfectly still in the middle of all that mess. She would cry.

When she finally fell asleep, he would write. On the back of a receipt or on the white page before the title page of a book. There was a fictional Rory, carrying out the actions that Rory already had, embedding them with meaning. There was a fictional Rory moving through life while the real Rory slept.

Word by word, fictional Rory was catching up with the time and place of the real Rory, until finally, he had scribbled the last word on the back of a carton coaster.

He didn't write the end, because there was no need.

All he needed to write was the truth.

_In the end, the girl goes home. The only way to oneself is to go back to the start._

Exhausted, he fell asleep among scraps of paper filled with blue ink.

- - - - - - - - -

Jess woke up to find Rory covered by the same scraps of paper that had surrounded him when he fell asleep. She was carefully placing them one on top of the other, silently, while big tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Rory," he started, stretching from the sitting position he'd slept in. The couch was uncomfortable as hell, he noted, making a mental note of getting a better one as soon as they could afford it. "It's not finished..." he added, walking over to the place on the floor where she sat, cross-legged. She was still in her pajamas, thought it might just be noon.

"Of course it isn't," she said, looking up at him. She held a bunch of post-its on one hand and a bunch of receipts in another. "That's why I'm editing it."

Jess kneeled in front of her, amazed that she could be smiling and crying at the same time. "Are you ok?" he asked, trying not to sit on any of her just-organized papers.

Rory nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "It's just... you know me. You made me human." She let the small pieces of paper fall from her hands, a multicolored rain unto her knees. She placed her hands at both sides of his face and drew him near, for a kiss, for a reward, for a thank-you. A post-it stuck to his skin. "I think I can write again," she adds, giddy.

"I think you always could," Jess replied, unsticking the post-it from his chin.

"I think you'll get published," Rory said.

Jess shook his head. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I wrote this for you. The only person that needs to read this already did. Purpose has been served."

Rory tilted her head to one side and smiled with a wisdom Jess had only ever seen when she had an evil plan afoot. "You can include that in your dedication. You, my friend..."

"Friend?" Jess interrupted.

"Sshhh... Don't derail my train of thought."

"Wasn't trying to."

"You are getting published. Just see if you can stop me."

"Stop you? Wouldn't dream of it."

- - - - - - - - - - -

The diner was fully into the breakfast rush when Jess and Rory arrived with Annie in tow. But the hustle and bustle of the diner wasn't what called their attention the most.

What stood out was Luke, physically fighting with Lorelai so that she wouldn't reach the coffee pot.

"You are not!" he said, his voice booming. His arms were outstretched, keeping her at a distance.

"Oh, come on, Luke. It's a Gilmore tradition!" she countered.

Jess looked at Rory with questioning eyes, but Rory could only shrug. There were too many traditions to know which one Luke and Lorelai were fighting over.

"She's not a Gilmore. Therefore, it's not gonna happen!" Luke argued.

"Ah, but she's an Honorary Gilmore. They participate in traditions too."

"They've been like this all morning," April said, leaning into Rory. She was still wearing glasses and her hair was still all over the place, but gone were the braces and the lisp that had characterized her as a girl. College had given her a worldly air, even if she was a worldly nerd. Stars Hollow seemed to balance her out, and she slipped into her role as a Danes Diner Girl effortlessly.

"What's it about?" Jess asked.

"Coffee," she ascertained. "Is it ever about anything else?" April picked up Annie and hugged her tightly. "So, kiddo, you ready for your first day of school?"

"Yes, I am," Annie replied, grinning. She had only known April for a week but she'd fast grown to like her. "I got notebooks and pencils and colors and a ruler."

"I love first days of school," April reasoned.

Rory nodded right along with her, reminiscing. "The inevitable nausea."

"Not knowing what to wear," April chimed in.

"You are all insane," Jess interrupted, making his way over to Lorelai and Luke.

"Yes!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"No!" Luke ordered, still keeping the coffeepot hostage.

"If I can take you two away from your morning fight for two minutes, I have two bottomless pits that need feeding. And getting some coffee in Rory's system might be good, too."

"No coffee for any Gilmores, honorary or otherwise. Not today," Luke grunted.

Rory protested from the table. "How is this my fault?"

"He just doesn't understand us, babe. We are the printed word, he the illiterate - " Lorelai explained.

"She wants to give Annie coffee," Luke interrupted.

Jess raised his eyebrows in outrage, his eyes boring holes into Lorelai. "Are you insane?"

"It's her first day of school," Lorelai explained.

"Grade school, not grad school," Jess countered. "You're not giving my kid coffee until she turns eighteen and that's final," he added, maybe a little too loudly.

The diner got really really quiet.

Luke took a look around at the gaping mouths. "Well, that ends that argument. What'll you have?"

It took Jess a second to get back on his game. "Uh, pancakes all around, orange juice for Annie and me. Coffee for Rory, if the prohibition's lifted."

"You just made Lorelai Gilmore stop talking. You say it, I cook it. On the house," Luke answered. He laughed at Lorelai's open-mouthed confusion and shook his head as Jess turned fifteen different shades of red.

April smiled at Rory and bumped Jess's shoulder. "What did I tell you? First day of school is always special."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jess and Rory walked at either side of Annie, each holding one of her hands. The small, red-haired girl walked as fast as she could, pulling them along with her.

"Huh," Jess said, looking sideways at Rory.

"Yeah," Rory answered, laughing.

"_My kid_, I said," Jess repeated.

"And she is," Rory volunteered.

Jess shook his head. "I'm not sure how I feel about this."

"And here I assumed you had it all figured out," Rory joked.

"Huh."

"If it helps lighten the load, you could say _our_."

"Hour?" Jess asked, confused. Annie was pulling harder at his hand and it was distracting. "Annie, slow down, it's uncool to be early."

"It is not uncool to be early," Rory countered. "_Our_. As in _our kid_."

"_Our kid,_" Jess repeated.

"I mean, I'm going to be here and we get along, Annie and I, and I want to help you out. Not that I know anything about kids."

"I don't either."

"Well, you are a couple of years ahead of me."

"_Our kid._" Jess smiled. "I kind of like how that sounds. Does feel a little lighter. Like I could blame you if she needs therapy in the future."

The school building came into sight. Annie doubled her efforts to get them to speed up, turning to face them as she pulled, her arms crossed in front of her.

"Good," Rory said. "Because I think you should lower the median age for _our kid_'s coffee consumption. I mean, she is an Honorary Gilmore."

Jess was about to protest when Annie finally had it. "If you two don't hurry up I'm going to drop out of school," she exclaimed, letting go of their hands and standing perfectly still, arms crossed over her chest.

Jess could do nothing but laugh. "I'm not sure Principal Merten will be able to handle that." He lifted Annie up onto his shoulders and gave Rory a lopsided smile. "Hold on, kid," he said, taking off on a full run, towards the school.

For the first time in his life, he wasn't running away. He was running towards something.

And he was being cheered from the sidelines, by a woman with impossibly blue eyes, who was laughing heartily.

This time, running?

It felt a lot like being home.

THE (B)END

Hey, All!! It's been quite a ride.

I started writing this story as my first in the GG fandom and I am grateful to have found so much support and love for the characters and their plight. I hope this ending doesn't seem too rushed. It is, of course, the shortest chapter I've published since the prologue, which makes me thing this chapter might be more of an epilogue, but anyways. By the time I started Chapter 24, my hands started itching to wrap _The Kid_ up so I could get started on the sequel.

I actually already have a couple of the scenes for the sequel written out and will start posting it ASAP. It's called _All grown up_ and it jumps about eight or nine years into the future. We meet a high-school student Annie, along with a whole new generation of Stars Hollow kids, but the focus will still be on the relationship between Jess-Rory-Annie and their surrounding family interactions. Luke, Lorelai, Lane, Dean, Lindsay, April and the Senior Gilmores are all to make appearances. Hopefully, you'll find this future universe interesting.

So please, tell me what you've thought, and in a few days drop by and take a stab at _All grown up_. If you have me on your author-alert list, you'll get a nifty message when I publish the new story. I don't guarantee you'll like it, but I will try to stay true to these characters. Also, if you're itching for a read, drop by some of my other stories and tell me what you like and what you hate. I'm always open for suggestions, so you can also leave me some prompts in the reviews section.

And as always, thank you for reading. Without you guys, these are words in the wind.

hugs

di


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